Corvina Blend

Tasted at the winery. This is a blend of 80% Corvina, 10% Rondinella, 5% Croatina, and 5% Oseleta. 17% abv. Garnet in color with a darker core, opaque and bright. The nose is enticing with black cherries, prunes, anise, char, and slight chocolate covered raisins. Full bodied. Soft, pillowy texture. Light to medium tannins. Great acidity. On the palate, black cherries, dried cherries, dark chocolate, raisins and char. Some warmth on the finish. Long finish. This is complex and deep and unwinds nicely in the glass. It is lovely on its own and will work with hearty foods.

16.5%abv.  This is a blend of Corvina 65%, Corvinone 15%, Rondinella 10%, and Oseleta 10%.  Deep garnet in color, ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cherries, raisins, char, spice, chocolate,  slight cedar and black licorice.  Complex and big.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate the has cherries, some black cherries, and fennel.  Long finish.  This wine is in a great place right now.  It should drink well for another ten years.  Great on its own, this would be great with venison or other slow cooked meat dishes.  

It was nice to revisit this after 6 years of so.  It really hasn't improved that much.  It is a proper Amarone that is a good value and a good wine.  Ruby in color. The nose has cherries, roasted herbs and raisiny. Dry. Tannins mostly resolved at this point.  Good acidity. Cherries and dried cherries with some char. It won't get better but should drink well for another five years.  

This one had gotten lost in the cellar and I wondered how it held up.  Quite well I would say.  Past prime, but not by that much.  Deep garnet in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherries, dried flowers, spice and some char.  Medium bodied.  Nice balance.  Good acidity.  On the palate, this is certainly drinking well.  Some depth.  Flavors of cherries, black cherries with some char.  Long finish.  This is better with a touch of food, but very good.  Fully mature.  Drink up if you have any but based on this bottle, it should go another five to ten.  This would  be great w

From one of the top producers in the Veneto (and most expensive), this Valpolicella drinks like a very good Amarone.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has raisins, cherries, tar, graphite, and anise.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Enough acidity.  This wine is dry but very high alcohol.  The palate shows the alcohol but plenty of cherries and prunes along with some underlying tar/asphalt.  Long finish.  At age 17, this is a big, high alcohol wine which may be off putting to some and wonderful to others.  It is great on its own but would work better with

This wine comes from north east Italy.  It is a blend of Corvina, Rondinella, Corvinone and Negrara grapes.  To make a Ripasso styles wine, the wine, after fermentation, is poured over the leftover pomace from the Amarone.  This gives the wine a bit more stuffing than a regular Valpolicella.  Ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, Heering liqueur, and spice.  Medium to full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Good acidity.  On the palate, this is tasty with cherries and black cherries with underlying char and spice.  Long finish.  Nice on its own, but better with food.  This would g

A blend of 80% Corvina and 20% Rondinella.  Deep garnet in color.  Slightly flat.  The nose is nice with stewed fruits, figs, cherries and spices.  Full bodied.  Nice acidity.  On the palate, prunes, cherries and spice.  Depth.  Nice finish.  This is drinking well now.  It is dry but with a feeling of sweetness.  Nice finish.  This is nice on its own but better with food.  It would work well with Eggplant Parmesan.  Drink over the next seven to ten years.  

In describing this wine, calling it basically an Amarone, is not correct but a pretty close and useful phrase. It is a blend of 70% Corvina and Corvina grossa, 20% Rondinella, 5% Croatina, and 5% Oseleta.   Deep garnet in color, mostly opaque and bright.