Quintarelli Valpolicella Classico Superiore 2018

Giuseppe Quintarelli is among the most revered names in Veneto, working the Classico hills above Verona in a slow, traditional way that set the template for serious Valpolicella. This Classico Superiore is built from Corvina and Rondinella with a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon, grown on the limestone and volcanic soils of the Valpolicella Classico zone, where hillside sites and good day-to-night temperature variation give ripe fruit with firm acidity. The Superiore style gains depth from partly dried grapes and a long elevation, and this wine spends around 60 months in large oak botti. That extended barrel ageing allows steady oxygen exchange that knits the tannins, turns fresh fruit towards dried fruit and adds tobacco, leather and savoury complexity, while the large casks keep oak flavour restrained. At 15 percent the wine is full and warming. The colour is deep garnet with a touch of age. The nose shows dried fig, black cherry and plum with cedar, tobacco, leather and dark chocolate. The palate is full bodied and intense, with ripe tannin, a bittersweet cherry edge and a long, savoury finish. Decant an hour or two ahead and serve at 17 to 18 degrees. Made for rich meat dishes.