The excellent 2007 Amarone della Valpolicella Riserva Costasera beautifully displays the power and balance of the 2007 vintage – one of the best ever for this historic estate in Valpolicella. This is a delicious and significant wine that displays an immensely elegant bouquet with blackberry, dark chocolate and Asian spice. What I love most is that this wine never colors outside the lines and it never feels overdone or overripe. It’s a modern rendition of Amarone that proudly carries its oak-driven aromas, but it also finds a way to neatly wrap all of its sinful excesses within the soft and velvety texture of its constitution. This wine is built to last. Drink 2015-2030. Winemaking excellence should be consistent, but it must never be static. This is a lesson I learned at a recent tasting spanning five decades of Masi’s wines including the 1967, 1973, 1979, 1983, 1988, 1990, 1995, 1997, 2003 and 2007 Amarones Classico, Riserva, Vaio, Campolongo and Mazzano. Sandro Boscaini and his team of technicians have been tinkering with their signature style for many decades. Like a New York cab swerving between traffic lanes, they’ve veered into more oak, less oak, more extraction and less extraction. Despite the manic maneuvering, they never venture far from the centerline. Importer: Kobrand Corporation, www.kobrandwineandspirits.com