Verona, Italy

Matt’s review: Ilatium Morini’s 2019 Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG “Campo Leon” pre-release sample tasted during Anteprima Amarone in Verona. The wine is anticipated to be released in January 2025 when the winemaker deems it ready for commercial release.

Ruby red colour, the nose shows dried dark fruit, plum, fig, tobacco, and incense. Super refreshing, with cherry, tart dark fruits, black tea, salted dark chocolate, and youthful fine grained tannins persisting on the long textured finish. A complex and well structured Amarone which will pair beautifully with braised dishes, creamy risotto, and aged cheese. Enjoy 2026-2036+. Tasted February 2024. 94+ points. Matt Steeves – http://www.quercusvino.ca

Pro-tip: many Amarone della Valpolicella wines benefit from several years of barrel age and bottle refinement (bottle aging) prior to being released to the market. The result: wines that are well integrated, having benefitted from those extra few years in the cellar, often making them perfectly primed to enjoy upon release, and also showing early signs of the complexity of aromas, flavours, and texture that come with bottle refinement (cellaring/bottle aging). Keep that in mind when new releases of Amarone hit the shelves at LCBO and SAQ stores in Ontario and Quebec and you see vintages that are already 6-10 years aged. These are excellent choices of already-aged wines which are often immediately ready to enjoy but also have years (if not decades) of cellar potential to enable you to enjoy them down the road.