The colour is deep tawny. Still very lively. On the nose port like. Coffee, dark chocolate, toasted nuts and balsamic notes. In the mouth very smooth, with a good acidity. The aftertaste last for quite a while.
Amarone can be considered an offspring of Recioto. Legend has it that Amarone was born after a Recioto fermentation was left going for too long.
Key to the process of making both wines is the appassimento method. This involves drying out harvested grapes, which concentrates sugars and fruit flavours. Winemakers traditionally dried grapes on straw mats or bamboo racks, or by hanging bunches from wooden beams.
Corvina is the signature grape variety in both wines, with Corvinone, Rondinella and Molinara playing the main support roles depending on the winemaker’s choice.
The difference is that Recioto wines retain sugar content at the end of fermentation and are sweet, while Amarone wines are fermented to a drier style.
The first bottle with the name Amarone on the label was made in 1939 by Cantina Sociale Valpolicella di Negrar. Production on a regular basis was however started only in 1953, the same year my father was born. At the beginning, the indication on the labels the indication was Recioto Amarone. It was only in 1990 that Amarone gained its independence from Recioto and got its own identity on the label.
1973 is the year this wine was made, but also the year I was born, the year of the end of US involvement in the Vietnam War, of the Yom Kippur War, of the Oil Embargo, of the official opening of the World Trade Center, and of the first handheld cellular phone call.
I received this bottle from a friend as a present for my 49th birthday. He bought it at ARVI for some 100 CHF. The bottle was not perfect, nonetheless seems like the wine aged well..
Country: Italy
Region: Veneto
Grapes: Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, Molinara
Type: Red
Vintage: 1973
Producer: Masi
Price range: Luxury (>100 US$)
Pascal’s Enjoyment Index: 4/5