Caterina Zardini Amarone della Valpolicella 2013

A quick detour from the Spanish wines to tell you all about this litle Italian number I tried the other night when a group of us ended up at an Italian bar in Madrid. We had some big spenders with us who ordered up this Amarone della Valpocella red wine at a 50€ hit. Being such nice people they let me try some.

I’ve mentioned before that I don’t always get on with Italian reds because they are often too high in tannins for me. I’ve now decided this is because everyone instists on ordering Tuscany reds as if the rest of Italy didn’t exist. Don’t get me wrong the Tuscany wines are great if you like the heavy tannic chiantis, but they are not my style.

This wine is from the Valpolicella region which is just north of Venice. All good so far as I like a lot of the wine produced around Venice. The name Amarone della Valpolicella is in fact the title for a particular style of wine made in the region from grapes that have been dried to raisins before they are fermented. This is designed to give the illusion of sweetness in what is, in reality, a dry wine.

It is considered the highest quality of wine from that region and should be left to age for a minimum of two years before drinking, though many recommend at least five years. This particular wine, the Caterina Zardini 2013 Clásico Riserva, has won awards in 2019 and given a high rating, so I guess it is now ready to be drunk.

It has a lovely purple colour of medium intensity and surprisingly little scent, but when you taste it it’s like a cake soaked in liquor. Lovely black fruit plus dried fruit, fig and prunes, soaked in syrup. It is high in alcohol, which you can tell, with medium low tannins, and a lovely long finish. This is a dry medium bodied wine which is nicely balanced so the dryness offsets the syrupy fruit flavours to produce an a really nice wine to drink.

I have got to visit the Venetian region for some serious wine tasting and the Amarones will definitely be on the list regardless of their high price.