Quintarelli Amarone? Clue me up please.

AJ Temple

AJ Temple

Location
Kent & Köln
I've just been watching Theo Randall, who I've never met but comes across as a very nice chap, on this food / chef podcast
and towards the end he recommends as a superb wine Qunitarelli Amorone that he drank in a restaurant in Verona.

This is a wine producer I've never heard of before. Does anyone have experience of it and would you recommend it. (I've heard of Amarone obviously but not this vineyard). That said I've not tasted Amarone as far as I can recollect. What would be a sensible price (for personal consumption so say a case of 6)?
 
Quintaterilli wines - lovely, the ones i have had. Never had the Amarone - the Valpollecellas Ive had have been very good.

You pay for them, but damn. No doubt more experienced members here will have much broader experience. One certain member used to stock them in his shop !!
 
The Amarone is an extremely expensive wine for post-prandial contemplation, the very opposite of thirst-quenching and challengingly mediaeval in its density and volatity. Deeply impressive but I think I've drunk it twice and that's probably enough. There is a lovely sweet wine which is much less challenging.
 
Hmm. Quite expensive it seems for an educative experiment. Maybe I will try some fine but less expensive Amarone first. Any recommendations at say £100 a bottle max? I'm trying to broaden my wine horizons from the usual Bordeaux, Rioja and good Rieslings that I usually drink.
 
Quintarelli and Dal Forno are the two top of the top Amarone producers but are leagues above on price and I’ve never had their Amarones. Given not my style preference it’s not a wine I’d seek out but I’ve been to that place in Verona and it’s very special.

As others have said there are producers the tier below who at least much less expensive. I’d recommend Bussola whom I visited in 2023
 
One of the best wines I've ever had, courtesy of Cameron Phillips at Bocca di Lupo was a Quintarelli. Not quite sure of the appellation. He also brought along a wonderful white truffle that made for a fabulous evening with Charles Mutter and Peter Webb also in attendance.

Just found out that it was 1983 Recioto della Valpolicella

Some pics from Facebook
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AJ Temple said:
Hmm. Quite expensive it seems for an educative experiment. Maybe I will try some fine but less expensive Amarone first. Any recommendations at say £100 a bottle max? I'm trying to broaden my wine horizons from the usual Bordeaux, Rioja and good Rieslings that I usually drink.
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I very much enjoyed a Ferragu Amarone quite recently. Incredible with venison. Swig used to sell it, but hard to find in the UK these days.
 
Great, huge intense wines. Best sipped contemplatively immediately before bed.

Simon Loftus of Adnams fame used to rave over them. His favourite combo was with cold roast beef and baked potato. I still have some from the ‘70s lurking somewhere that he sold me when I was at University. They also make a wonderful Recioto (a sweet red) and a Sauternes like sweetie called ‘Bandito’ that is of Yquem-like quality
 
For me Quintarelli is the finest Amarone I know, at least historically. I haven’t tried very recent releases.

Strangely, one of the very first proper wine tastings I went to included several wines by Quintarelli, as well as others from the Veneto hosted by Simon Loftus.

My friend Linden Wilkie put on a deep vertical tasting of Quintarelli Amarone back to 1971 a few years ago now. I wisely spat everything out, which was quite a good idea as it’s quite intense and several were done in by the tasting.

Generally, it is not a wine for long term aging, and is released ready to drink.
Of the older wines the 1977 was an exception to the rule of not aging for a lengthy period. And the 1990 Riserva was unusually quite sweet. Almost veered to a semi-Recioto.

It is an iconic wine, and a real vin di contemplazione, which needs time and space at the end of a meal to enjoy by itself. But I get more hedonistic joy from Quintarelli’s sweet wine Amabile de Cere.
 
Thanks - and the reason it has remained unopened is because I have drunk very little Valipolicella at all, can't really envisage what it might taste like, and so it never comes to mind, i.e.,I am not sure what to eat with it - any suggestions of a good match?
 
The only Quinterelli I've had is the Valpolicella Classico, years ago, and I thought it a stunning wine for the appellation. But like others here, Amarone is never a wine style I reach for, so given the cost of the Quintarelli, not something I'd buy. I'd love to taste it some time given the memory of that Valpolicella lingers so powerfully.
 
I love Quitarelli wines and own a few, mostly the valpolicella which is atypical and ages glacially but sublimely, currently drinking 2012.
I have a single bottle,of the Amarone (maybe the riserva) unsure of vintage while check when I get home.
 
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