Favorite Amarone?

[Garbo]

Here is further info on the Monte Cristi. Maker is Michele Castellani.

"Michele Castellani's Amarone della Valpolicella Classico "Monte Cristi" 1993
Named as one of the year's top 100 wines in the Winter 1999 Annual Buying Guide of Wine and Spirits magazine. In that same issue it was named as the best Verona Red. It garnered a rating of 92. Wine and Spirits chose these 100 wines over 5,203 tasted in 1999. These wines "represent the best of their class and category". The tasting notes from Wine and Spirits: "Don't drive your Lincoln Navigator after even one glass of this wine. Its supercharged richness will plow right through a red light or stop sign. The new oak polish and full, blunt fruit make this seem more like a modern, overly generous table wine than an Amarone. It doesn't have the layers of flavor yet, but they should develop out of the Christmas cookie flavors and intoxicatingly lush fruit. A new style, and quite a beautiful one."

As you can see, we are philistine Californians whose tastebuds have been brainwashed into loving younger, more modern wines. (This one went particularly well with a yummy semi-soft cheese that had walnuts in it. See above post for food info.) It may very well be that the more complex wines would have been better off with some venison or a big ole Bistecca alla Fiorentina, but I think it has to do more with our tastebuds and the fact that they may not be quite at their peak yet. (The wines, I mean. Though one could make the argument that our tastebuds aren't at their peak yet, either.) If any of us had sprung for one of those fancy $125 bottles of older Amarone, we might have had a different P.O.V., but we are too cheap. Plus, who wants to share a bottle like that with nineteen other people?! (Also,this is a group tally, and several people chose some of those big wines as their favorites...)

The Monte Cristi breakdown is:
62% Corvina Veronese
20% Rondinella
5% Molinara
13% "local varieties known in pre-Roman times" (hmm...mystery grapes...)

At any rate, Roberto, if you are able to get it put us down for a case -- I'm sure there are folk in the group who would love to have some.


[This message has been edited by Garbo (edited 10-17-2000).]