I never pause at the Amarone section of my local wine shop. High alcohol content, low acidity, price and a pension towards heavy foods usually make me skip this quirky wine.
But a bargain is a bargain, especially when a close out for the heralded organic Trabucchi estate showed up locally. With forced low yields, natural yeast and a commitment to hand drying…and at less than $30 a bottle, I gave a few bottles a try.
The concentrated flavors and colors of Amarone come from the drying process, called logically in Italian appassiemento or rasinate (to ‘dry and shrivel’). Grapes are dried for 120 days, super intensifying the sugars and focusing all of the attention on the quality of the grape skin. It is that quality that dictates the tannins of the finished wine. The actual weight of the grape is reduced by 20-60% and the fermentation process slows to a crawl through the lack of moisture. In some cases up to 2 months! An odd and complex and laborious process from start to finish.
I don’t know the origins, the ‘why’ of this process, but previously the result, while interesting was a non-match for my palate. This particular bottle went a long way towards changing this.
I can’t know whether it is the craft of the Trabucchis, the organic and restrained process making the wine or the fact that 2002 overall created brighter and lighter wines in the region. What I do know is that I was surprised and it opened my imagination to something new.
This bottle is intense, concentrated, and full-bodied but the tannins are palpable and seem to layer the taste with a lightness that lifts the bouquet somehow. The fruit is juicy and fresh…remarkable since the wine is made from dried grapes!
If you can find this bottle, you might give it a try. Needs some food to pair with this. It was elegant enough and complimentary with a whole-wheat pasta and a chunk of grilled fish.
From Chambers Street Wines at $29.99 a bottle.
