Tag: wine

wine review: Contrada Palui Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG 2020

This impressive lightly coloured Amarone impressed last year when it made its debut at Anteprima Amarone given it's surprisingly faint colour yet big and layered taste profile. The 2020 vintage brings a similar light ruby colour and all the elegance you would expect along with great structure and texture revealing red and dark fruits, dried fruits, fig, plum, and sweet spices with impressive crushed rock minerality from the white limestone, black basalt and flint stone found in their high elevation vineyards overlooking Verona. This Amarone represents so clearly the terroir from where it was born. With their high elevation vineyards and careful winemaking they're able to reflect a profound sense of place so well. Contrada Palui is changing how many may have perceived Amarone in the past. See for yourself. Put your fancy Burgundy down and try this wine! You'll be impressed. Enjoy now and over the next 15 years. Tasted February 2025. 95 points. Matt Steeves - http://www.quercusvino.ca

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wine review: Tezza Viticoltori Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG 2020

Tezza Viticoltori Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG 2020 - Tezza Viticoltori, based in the Valpantena valley immediately northeast of Verona. Their 2020 Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG shows impressive intensity and depth, layering bold dark and red fruit with inviting notes of sweet spice, chocolate, clove, and dried fig. The calcareous, well-drained soils of Valpantena lend structure and lift, keeping the wine refined rather than heavy, while the Tezza family’s restrained approach and organic farming allows the fruit and terroir to shine. It’s a beautifully balanced Amarone, rich, warmly spiced, and poised to age gracefully while preserving its hallmark warm spice and refreshing dried-fruit complexity. Tasted February 2025. 94 points. Matt Steeves - http://www.quercusvino.ca

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wine review: Vigneti di Ettore Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOCG 2020

Vigneti di Ettore is a historic, family-run estate deeply rooted in the Valpolicella Classico zone. Founded in 1930, the winery has evolved through generations while maintaining a steadfast commitment to authenticity and quality. Today, the third generation—winemaker Gabriele—guides all viticultural and cellar work, supported by the experience and steady hand of his father, Giampaolo, who remains actively involved despite being “not fully retired.” The family farms 19 hectares of hillside parcels across the Negrar Valley, one of the beating hearts of Valpolicella Classico. Their vineyards benefit from varied exposures, elevations, and soils that combine clay, limestone, and ancient moraine, giving the wines nuance, energy, and minerality. Vigneti di Ettore’s style is defined by clarity, freshness, and a deft balance between tradition and precision. Their Amarone is never about sheer power—it’s about purity of fruit, textural finesse, and a sense of place. Over the years, the estate has quietly become one of the most consistent and compelling small producers in the region, with each vintage deepening their reputation. The 2020 Amarone from Vigneti di Ettore is a beautifully harmonious and strikingly refined interpretation of this famed style—perhaps the finest expression the estate has produced to date. The nose opens with a seamless medley of dark fruit, subtle spice, mineral notes, and lifted aromas that speak to both the vineyard elevations and the careful appassimento. There is a compelling interplay of freshness and depth, with everything integrated and in perfect balance. On the palate, the wine continues its theme of harmony. Dark fruit is woven into savoury, mineral-driven layers, all carried by a smooth, textural elegance. Nothing is overdone; every component—aroma, flavour, structure, and texture—works together with remarkable cohesion. This is a modern, sophisticated Amarone built on finesse rather than force. Still youthful but already captivating, the 2020 will reward patience. The anticipated release is winter 2027, and the wine will continue to evolve beautifully for decades thereafter. Tasted February 2025. 95+ points. Matt Steeves - http://www.quercusvino.ca

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wine review: Albino Armani Cuslanus Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva 2020 (estimated release 2028)

Albino Armani’s long history in the Veneto, documented over four centuries, continues to flourish through a deep commitment to traditional techniques, high-altitude viticulture, and site-driven expressions of Valpolicella. Their Riserva-tier Amarone, Cuslanus, is sourced from some of the region’s most elevated vineyards, including parcels reaching 500 metres above sea level, where cooler temperatures and steady mountain breezes preserve freshness and shape the wine’s trademark lift and aromatic precision. Cuslanus Riserva 2020 is the finest vintage of this wine I’ve tasted to date. It opens with an impressive array of rich dark fruit, layered with a beautiful medley of sweet spice, brandied cherry, and chocolate, creating an elegant yet gently opulent aromatic profile. The palate is both refined and refreshing, a hallmark of the high-altitude vineyards from which the wine is sourced. There is a clarity and vibrancy to the fruit, remarkably balanced by a subtle richness that speaks to the harmony achieved in this vintage. The structure is poised, the tannins polished, and the overall impression one of finesse and quiet depth. With its combination of freshness, elegance, and concentrated flavour, this is a superb Amarone Riserva that will reward cellaring and will stand out as one of the estate’s great vintages. Tasted February 2025. 95 points. Matt Steeves - http://www.quercusvino.ca

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wine review: Fasoli Gino “Alteo” Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG 2020

Fasoli Gino Alteo Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG 2020 - 17.5% - Founded in 1925 and known for its commitment to organic and artisanal production, Fasoli Gino is one of Valpolicella’s most respected family wineries. Their flagship Amarone, Alteo, is crafted exclusively from vineyards planted on the highest slopes of Valpolicella, where a mix of clay and limestone soils contributes natural minerality, tension, and structural depth. These elevated, well-ventilated sites allow the grapes to ripen gradually, developing intense concentration while preserving freshness. The fruit for Alteo is manually harvested in early fall, then undergoes approximately four months of appassimento—the traditional withering process that intensifies sugars, aromatics, and structure. After a slow, patient fermentation, the wine matures in barriques for a minimum of three years before an additional year of bottle aging, ensuring complexity, integration, and longevity. This meticulous, time-honored approach yields a powerful yet detailed Amarone of great character and aging potential. The 2020 Alteo Amarone immediately captured my attention for its rich, rustic, and layered personality. The nose is expressive and evocative, delivering savory dark fruit, dried fruit, fig, potpourri, and forest floor, all unfolding in beautifully interwoven layers. On the palate, the wine is deep, concentrated, and texturally impressive, with flavours of cassis, dried cherry, spice, and warm, earthy undertones. The length is exceptional, carrying its richness with confidence and balance. Despite its power (17.5%), the wine remains poised, driven by the minerality and structure imparted by its high-elevation clay-limestone vineyards. This is a robust, complex, and beautifully crafted Amarone—showing wonderfully now, with the depth and stamina to evolve gracefully over the next two decades. Tasted February 2025. 96+ points. Matt Steeves - http://www.quercusvino.ca

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wine review: 2023 Sempre Mio “Primo Mio” Chardonnay, Lincoln Lakeshore VQA, Ontario 13.8% ABV

From the first vintage of Corey Mio’s Chardonnay project, “Primo Mio” is a single-barrel expression from the estate’s Mio Vineyard, a cuvée so distinct and expressive that it earned its own label and name. The nose is beautifully complex, opening with ripe orchard fruit, pear, and a touch of pineapple, framed by delicate spice and subtle oak integration. On the palate, it’s creamy yet refined, with vibrant white orchard fruit and spice carrying through to a long, refreshing finish. A delicate seashell minerality emerges late, adding a sense of place and salinity that speaks to the cool-climate terroir of Lincoln Lakeshore. An exceptional debut Chardonnay, polished, textural, and full of promise. A shining example of why Niagara’s single-vineyard Chardonnays continue to impress on the world stage. Tasted November 2025. 94+ points. Matt Steeves - http://www.quercusvino.ca

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wine review: Lamole di Lamole “Lareale” Riserva Chianti Classico DOCG 2020, Tuscany, Italy

Impressive and welcoming from the first swirl, the 2020 Chianti Classico 'Lareale' Riserva opens with a complex bouquet showing sweet sandalwood, warm spice, black tea, brandied cherry, plum, balsamic notes, leather, and graphite. There’s both elegance and depth here, a seamless expression of Lamole’s high-elevation terroir (upwards of 600m asl), and the estate’s signature finesse. On the palate, savoury dark fruit mingles with hints of brighter berries, the soft tannins gently emerge on the long, balanced finish, providing structure without austerity. Polished and beautifully integrated, this Riserva is showing wonderfully now and will continue to evolve gracefully over the next decade. A refined Riserva that showcases what makes Chianti Classico so timeless — bright fruit, savoury spice, and the graceful balance only its Tuscan hills can produce. Tasted November 2025, 92 points. Matt Steeves – www.quercusvino.ca

Impressive and welcoming from the first swirl, the 2020 Chianti Classico 'Lareale' Riserva opens with a complex bouquet showing sweet sandalwood, warm spice, black tea, brandied cherry, plum, balsamic notes, leather, and graphite. There’s both elegance and depth here, a seamless expression of Lamole’s high-elevation terroir (upwards of 600m asl), and the estate’s signature finesse. On the palate, savoury dark fruit mingles with hints of brighter berries, the soft tannins gently emerge on the long, balanced finish, providing structure without austerity. Polished and beautifully integrated, this Riserva is showing wonderfully now and will continue to evolve gracefully over the next decade. A refined Riserva that showcases what makes Chianti Classico so timeless — bright fruit, savoury spice, and the graceful balance only its Tuscan hills can produce. Tasted November 2025, 92 points. Matt Steeves – http://www.quercusvino.ca

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Wine review: Reif Estate Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2020, Niagara River VQA

The 2020 vintage continues to demonstrate why Niagara’s warmest sub-appellation, the Niagara River VQA in Niagara-on-the-Lake, is so well suited to Cabernet Sauvignon. The nose opens with savoury dark fruit, plum, Italian herbs, black pepper, and graphite - a beautifully layered and terroir-driven expression. On the palate, the dark fruit core repeats alongside youthful tannins that soften beautifully with time. After a two-hour decant, the wine truly begins to sing - refined, balanced, and serious in every respect. The finish lingers with graphite mineral tones and savoury fruit that persist gracefully. Decant before serving and enjoy this elegant, structured Cabernet over the next decade as it evolves in complexity and depth. Tasted November 2025. 93 points. Matt Steeves - http://www.quercusvino.ca Coming to LCBO November 22, 2025

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