Italy's "Required Reading" 2000 Quintarelli Amarone Veneto: Unit 1.1 - Transcendentalism in Wine

Enter Quintarelli Amarone.

What can I say about Quintarelli that hasn’t been said before? He’s simply the master. The legend of Veneto’s Valpolicella region. The benchmark old-school Amarone producer whose only considerable peer is Romano Dal Forno.

Veneto's Dark Prince
2003 Dal Forno Amarone
Density, Layer, Nuance

"A joy to taste... a sumptuous expression of dark fruit, bitter chocolate, minerals, licorice, tar and smoke. The wine possesses stunning depth and a finish that lasts forever."
- Antonio Galloni, Wine Advocate

You know the story well by now: Two majesties reign over the Veneto - one is Giuseppe Quintarelli, the elder statesman of the region; the other is Romano Dal Forno, the reserved prince whose wines are anything but.

Dal Forno's wines are über-concentrated and believably dense; there is simply no other wine being made that is like these wines.

Dal Forno's wines occupy a special place. With Conterno's Monfortino, Rousseau's Chambertin, Egon Muller's Scharzhofbeger, Dal Forno's reds exist in the realm of the chosen few.

These are benchmark wines - they define their categories.

Yet in 2005, by most accounts, Dal Forno has redefined what Valpolicella can achieve. This is a monumental vintage for this wine.

Edoardo Valentini: "The Lord of the Vines"
2005 Valentini Trebbiano
2006 Valentini Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
2007 Valentini Cerasuolo
Cult Wines of Abruzzo - Razor Sharp Pricing

Edoardo Valentini was a shy man, a quiet, Italian eccentric along the lines of Josko Gravner or Prince Ludovisi of Fiorano. Yet the wines he crafted are lavish, extroverted, brimming with a flavor and texture that is absolutely unique.

For these reasons, the wines of Eduordo Valentini are cult treasures of Abruzzo. Only Valentini's friend and neighbor, Emidio Pepe, has achieved a comparable level of fame and respect.

Emails on wines like these are so hard to write - these are bottles that have created their own categories. There is simply no way to quickly define this estate, or these wines. So, if you're snowed in, grab another cup of coffee and continue reading... it'll be worth it.

Teroldego is a fascinating grape combining seemingly disparate elements of density with alpine freshness, berry fruit and florality with savory notes of leaves, underbrush, tar and sandalwood.

We have been Quintarelli fans for many years - our email program documents an infatuation from day one. As a final tribute we'd like to offer one of Quintarelli's masterpieces, his 2000 Amarone.

The Fascination with Quintarelli
2001 Quintarelli Valpolicella Classico
Extraordinary Valpolicella - Lowest Price in the Nation

We've never offered Quintarelli's benchmark Valpolicella... not because we haven't wanted to, but because it's really difficult to find - especially at this price.

If you haven’t yet had an opportunity to worship at the altar of Giuseppe Quintarelli, this is your chance. Be sure to genuflect on your way in - Quintarelli is the master of Valpolicella, and his wines are transcendent.