There is so much richness in the tar and dark fruit notes of the 2011 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Campolongo di Torbe that it is almost a meal in itself. There is plenty of ripeness from the hot vintage, but this 16% alcohol wine is just a bomb, with such a big payload of jammy blackberry that it comes close to being too much of a good thing. The blend is 70% Corvina, 25% Rondinella and 5% Molinara. This dark and brooding wine washes over the palate with thick waves of black fruit and mesquite spice intensity. Nothing goes unnoticed here: The power, the intensity and the opulence of the wine are taken to extremes in this dry vintage. Like the Mazzano, the Campo ages in large oak barrels for three years, while this fruit from the Capolongo di Torbe vineyard is grown at a slightly higher altitude than Mazzano, at 375 to 400 meters above sea level in Negrar, with red, limestone-rich soils. Some 15,600 bottles were made.

Beautiful on the nose, with ample ripe fruit and spice notes that follow through to the palate of crushed black raspberry and black currant, Earl Grey tea leaf and dried tea rose flavors. Though expressive now, there's a dense core of fine-grained tannins that should give this the stuffing to age. Firm finish. Best from 2020 through 2033. 1,300 cases made, 100 cases imported.??–AN??Region: Italy / Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Select to Add

The 2011 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Campolongo di Torbe holds your attention firm, with a deeply alluring bouquet of rum-soaked raisins, cinnamon, cherry liquor, minty herbs and a dusting of cocoa. It’s silky in texture and more feminine and lifted than expected, with a tart display of red and black fruits further complicated by notes of bitter coffee and dark, dark chocolate. The balance here is on point, as the 2011 comes across as more savory and sweet, and tapers off to notes of blackberry, sour citrus and inner rose tones. While you can enjoy this today, the Campolongo di Torbe will benefit from another five to ten years of cellaring.