2013 Guerrieri Rizzardi Calcarole Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 750 ml

If you ever get a chance to visit Verona, make sure to set aside some time for an afternoon visit to the immaculately manicured 18th-century garden where the famed Guerrieri Rizzardi winery conducts its tastings.

Expect the spread at your table to include hunks of Parmigiano-Reggiano, slices of paper-thin Prosciutto di Parma, and homemade, thick-crust bread drenched in fresh olive oil. 

But neither we, nor the collectors who make the trek to Guerrieri Rizzardi each year, come for the antipasti. We come for the Amarone. 

In 2009, a Guerrieri Rizzardi Amarone made history, becoming the first-ever Amarone to secure Best Red Wine of Italy honors from Gambero Rosso. Since then, the winery hasn't looked back.

Amarone is a singular wine, made from a unique process that results in intense, concentrated reds with incredible longevity and an inimitable potpourri of flavors. Unlike most red wines, the grapes behind Amarone don’t go instantly from the fields to the cellar. Instead, they’re painstakingly dried—bunch by bunch—over the course of three months. As the grapes’ water content evaporates, their flavors intensify, transforming simple red berry fruits into flavors and aromatics redolent of cured Amarena cherries, raspberry jam, blueberry compote, espresso, sage, and more. Fermentation takes an entire month, allowing an incredible depth of flavor to develop alongside an abundantly rich texture. The aging that follows is similarly slow, lending a spicy, oak-driven complexity across the palate. 

With every sip of Rizzardi’s Calcarole, you’ll find another inexplicable—but delicious—aroma or flavor, all resulting from the terroir of the vineyard behind this blend. 

Whether you’re new to Amarone or a connoisseur, take it from us: There’s no bottle you want at hand more than this classic.