Vinous released the report on Valpolicella wines by Eric Guido.
Vinous is Antonio Galloni’s vision of a modern-day wine publication. Vinous’s team of renowned critics and writers offers in depth coverage of new releases, retrospectives and verticals of older wines.
We are happy and proud to share the great accolades deserved and what Eric Guido wrote about our wines.
96 | DE BURIS AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO DOCG RISERVA 2010
The 2010 Amarone della Valpolicella Riserva De Buris pulls you close with an intense and spicy mix of sour citrus, tart cherries, dusty rose and dark, dark chocolate. I like the lift here, coming across as intensely oral and with an herbal twang that balances its rich fruits. This is silky yet vertical, as cooling acids add balance, saturating the palate with intense spice while becoming quite oral and mineral toward the close. It’s youthfully dense and with amazing potential, leaving the palate coated in ne tannins, nearly silty, along with hints of licorice and bitter spice. The 2010 is simply gorgeous, and with the potential to go two to three decades or more.
95 | AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO RISERVA CA’ FLORIAN 2013
Masses of crushed cherries, dried florals, cinnamon, clove and stone dust creates a seductive bouquet as the 2013 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva Ca’ Florian blossoms in the glass. It’s velvety and elegant with masses of dark red fruits and inner spice complicated by intense minerality and fine tannins that slowly saturate. It leaves lavender, licorice and dark, dark chocolate through the finale. This is structured and cool-toned.
Wow, the 2013 is an intense Ca’ Florian for the cellar.
92 | AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO 2017
The 2017 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico opens with a minty freshness, as bright red berries and dusty drieds flowers form in the glass. This is silky and saline in character, with depths of dark red fruits and spices all energized by saline-infused acidity, making for a highly drinkable expression as it develops inner rose tones toward the close. It’s structured and staining with a bitter twang of dark fruits and savory herbs. While you can still drink this today, the best is yet to come. A strapping and deep Amarone.
Giancarlo Tommasi, oenologist
91 | VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO SUPERIORE RAFAEL 2019
More savory than sweet and with wild herbs, tomato leaf, crushed ashen stone and hints of lavender fill the glass as the 2019 Rafael Valpolicella Classico Superiore blossoms. This is silky yet juicy and remarkably fresh with mineral-tinged cherries and a bitter tinge of spice. It finishes long and spicy with depths of minerality and a coating of dark fruits and exotic spices. Salty, intense and at 12%, the 2019 Rafael is a gorgeous and characterful Valpolicella Classico.
90 | LUGANA RISERVA LE FORNACI 2018
The 2018 Lugana Riserva Le Fornaci opens slowly, as an enticing bouquet of crushed rocks, green apples and exotic flowers forms in the glass. It’s silky in texture with medium-bodied weight, displaying an almost-oily sensation, with citrus-tinged orchard fruits and inner florals that arch across the palate. Brisk acids maintain amazing freshness and precision throughout, as the 2018 tapers off both long yet incredibly fresh, with a note of chlorophyll that is hard to describe, yet completely satisfying. I’m tempted to see what a year or two of cellaring might reveal here.
