Cole Kendall
Cole Kendall
After Labor Day, trees shed their leaves, it gets cool and it should be time (if ever) to try Amarone. A local restaurant whose owner enjoys Amarone is closing soon, so off we went, two guys and two bottles.
Sadly, due to weather conditions beyond our control it was actually over 90 as I got to the restaurant but luckily the air conditioning was really strong and it actually felt sort of chilly inside. We ordered pasta with "Cinghiale" (allegedly wild boar but who really knows how wild they are) and Rosticciana a Tuscan-style roast pork ribs.
First up was the 1993 Dal Forno Romano Amarone. This was a really dark color and (perhaps from having been refrigerated for a while prior to the trip to the restaurant) not showing a lot of alcohol and full of lots of dark fruits. No indications whatsoever that the wine was 26 years on.
Next was the 1993 Quintarelli Amarone. This was considerably lighter and distinctly "hotter" from the alcohol. The nose was more of a stewed fruit (prunes and apricots) than the jammier Dal Forno.
Both wines were enjoyable on their own but there was not much of a common story between them. Should we have opened the bottles a day or two before? Or should we have ordered cheese afterwards and continued to sip? I have some of the Quintarelli at home and will follow up in a day or two.
Sadly, due to weather conditions beyond our control it was actually over 90 as I got to the restaurant but luckily the air conditioning was really strong and it actually felt sort of chilly inside. We ordered pasta with "Cinghiale" (allegedly wild boar but who really knows how wild they are) and Rosticciana a Tuscan-style roast pork ribs.
First up was the 1993 Dal Forno Romano Amarone. This was a really dark color and (perhaps from having been refrigerated for a while prior to the trip to the restaurant) not showing a lot of alcohol and full of lots of dark fruits. No indications whatsoever that the wine was 26 years on.
Next was the 1993 Quintarelli Amarone. This was considerably lighter and distinctly "hotter" from the alcohol. The nose was more of a stewed fruit (prunes and apricots) than the jammier Dal Forno.
Both wines were enjoyable on their own but there was not much of a common story between them. Should we have opened the bottles a day or two before? Or should we have ordered cheese afterwards and continued to sip? I have some of the Quintarelli at home and will follow up in a day or two.