Cold season wine par excellence, amarone, made with dried grapes and therefore rich in sugar, can sometimes be too much — too concentrated, too alcoholic.
Posted at 3:00 p.m.
At Brigaldara, the Cesari family seeks elegance and balance in order to produce digestible wines, like this cuvée.
The color is pale and the nose intense and complex, with notes of cherries, fresh and dried, herbs, orange peel, tobacco. The palate is rich and fleshy, the caressing fruitiness, but everything is carried by a lot of freshness.
Very fine tannins bring depth, and slight bitterness also adds freshness to a long finish. With braised lamb shanks, duck breast with port, balsamic or dried fruit sauce, game. Among the Cesari, it is drunk with braised beef.
Brigaldara Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2016, $55.50 (12950433), 16.5%, in-store distribution starting November 7
Aging: 6 to 8 years