Novaia Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Le Balze Riserva

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The Novaia 2015 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva Vigneto le Balze (closed with a red wax capsule, with only 3,000 bottles produced) is surprisingly contained and subdued considering the extreme warmth and the long sunny days associated with this vintage. The blend of traditional grapes is 50% Corvina, 30% Corvinone and 20% Rondinella, all aged in botte for three years. The bouquet revs up slowly with purple and back fruit, but the mouthfeel is on the lighter and leaner side of the normally full-bodied Amarone school (despite a hearty 16% alcohol content). This makes the wine more accessible to the palate, generally speaking, and better suited to near or medium-term drinking.

This is the biggest, boldest and most robust offering from the Vaona family, which owns Novaia in Marano di Valpolicella. The alcohol weighs in at 16%, and the residual sugar is tightly woven into the rich, full-bodied nature of this wine. The blend of the 2011 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva Vigneto le Balze is 50% Corvina, 30% Corvinone, 15% Rondinella and 5% Oseleta. The biggest part of that blend comprises clusters of big berries and thick skins that are ideal for appassimento. The minority elements of the blend are used because of the color and richness they add to the wine. This is a hot-vintage, large-scale wine with heft and brawn, delivering black fruit, smoke and exotic spice. It ages in oak for three years. It seems destined for a rack of braised ribs. Only 4,000 bottles were produced.

The 2007 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva Vigneto Le Balze is a big boy in appearance but a softy in spirit. I-ve tasted this wine several times over the past few years and am fascinated by its clean evolutionary path. By the way, the 2008 vintage was not produced, so 2007 is what you still find on the market today. In order to achieve smaller yields, the Le Balze vineyard was changed from Pergola to Guyot a dozen years ago. The wine delivers deep concentration and heat (15% alcohol) followed by ethereal tones of barbecued herbs, smoked bacon and dried cherries. The tannins are firm and polished but they keep the wine neatly stitched together. You can wait to drink it, but not too long. Drink 2014-2020. Novaia has embarked on a slew of environmentally friendly projects since 2010 including the construction of a low-emissions winery and the addition of solar panels. Certified organic farming started in 2011. Importer: Glazer-s, www.glazers.com