Good Amarone della Valpolicella is expensive. You’d generally expect to pay $40 and up for a good bottle and could certainly spend 2-3 times that for top end juice. When you consider the effort that goes into to making Amarone, you can understand the price. Made from grapes dried out for months prior to pressing, known as the Appassimento process, the flavors are concentrated and powerful. This is a classic wine style and one of the best the world has to offer.
But what if you can’t spend $40 or $50, or $100 for that matter. Can you enjoy Amarone none the less
? Apparently you can for around $20. We were recently shopping at our local Trader Joe’s and I, as usual, was perusing the wine aisle. There were some prices that made me do a double take, as they had some pretty big time wines for very little money. We decided to take home a few and see if they in any way lived up to their varietals and regions, or if they were simply hollow versions of their type. A Brunello, Barolo and Amarone made their way into our shopping cart. We’ve already reviewed the Brunello (review is here). Below are our thoughts on the second of the three, the Amarone della Valpolicella:
Wine: 2017 Cecilia Beretta Amarone della Valpolicella
Winery Location: Veneto, Italy
Tasted By: Neil & Cheri Date: January, 2022
Tasting Notes: At $22 who knew what to expect? What we got was a wine with a rich nose of berries, orange peel, vanilla and a touch of wood. Raspberry was prominent. It did not have the overripe, raisiny notes that Amarones can have. That is fine with us, as it is not our favorite style. This juice is full bodied, just, with a good core of fruit. Medium tannins are well integrated. There is a nice balance overall, and it stays fresh through the long finish. It just lacks a tiny bit of the depth you would expect in an Amarone, but otherwise is delicious and very enjoyable. This would pair well with pasta or an Osso Buco. Very nice all around, and a really good value.
Price Point – we paid $21.99 at Trader Joe’s
Would We Buy It? – yes, we would buy more. You get a very slightly toned down Amarone experience. Just slightly, as this has wonderful fruit and good body. It is a very good wine.
So you can sample good Amarone for around $20. That’s a beautiful thing. It’s not quite at the height of quality for an Amarone, as there is another level that adds complexity, depth and power. The better wines are certainly worth more, but this one really does come close at a great price.
A votre santé!
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