Fasoli Gino Corte del Pozzo Amarone 2018

Fasoli Gino is a long-standing organic estate in the hills of Verona, Veneto, here working in the Valpolicella zone that produces Amarone. The wine follows the appassimento method that defines the style: Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella grapes are picked healthy and laid out to dry for several months, which dehydrates the berries and concentrates their sugar, colour and phenolics. The dried grapes are then pressed and slowly fermented to a powerful dry red, here reaching 17.5% alcohol. Ageing runs around thirty-six months in oak, where extended oxygen exchange resolves the dense tannin, adds spice and walnut tones and builds the wine's savoury complexity. The result is deep garnet, with a concentrated nose of dried cherry, plum and fig over dark chocolate, raisin and clove. The palate is full bodied and warming, with ripe but firm tannin, a hint of bittersweetness from the drying and a long, spiced finish. Decant an hour and serve at 18C in a large glass with rich braised meats, game and aged cheese. Its scale and concentration also make it a wine to sip on its own.