James Suckling's Intriguing “Wine of the Year”
Some were surprised to see an Amarone on the very top of James Suckling’s Top 100 Wines of the Year, which rolled out on Sunday.
Others, not so much: Amarone and the Valpolicella region overall have been undergoing a renaissance, and the media are taking note. In the past two years, Decanter has posted two articles, Vinous one, and Sucklings’ Top 100 annointment is another testament.
As Suckling says of his selection: “The wine world needs to give more recognition to classical wines that embody the greatness of time and place. This is one reason that JamesSuckling.com has chosen the Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2015 as our Wine of the Year for 2024.”
Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2015 earned 100 points from Suckling, who described wine as “breathtaking, illustrating the greatness of neoclassical wines today – wines that draw from the past but reflect contemporary precision in viticulture and winemaking, offering the ultimate in harmony and drinkability.”
If you’re eager to pick up the Wine of the Year, sorry I can’t help. But our Fattori Ripasso di Valpolicella Col de la Bastia 2014 is not far off – it’s an elegant style that reflects its terroir in the manner of Bertani, with an extra year of aging. With age and value, it is a serious wine for the money.
If this elegant style is now "on trend" in Valpolicella, it has always been Fattori's approach. He studied in Dijon and New Zealand, impressing upon him the primacy of site specificity and balanced ripeness. Thus he planted his vineyard at high elevation – 450 m – in the far Eastern edge of Valpolicella near Dal Forno where the fruit enjoys longer hang time. The soils are mostly limestone which lends a freshness to the Corvina.
The result is a wine of terroir, more in line with Crozes-Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie, that work well with rich braised meats and heavy sauces.
The wine is dark in color with intense aromas of bing cherry, pipe tobacco, and chocolate, and layers of complexity with a bright edge that keeps the wine refreshing. On the palate the wine is ripe, round, with smooth, soft tannins and an endless finish.
As soon as tomorrow, your guests can have perhaps the next best thing to James Sucking's #1 wine of the year.
