2013 Giuseppe Quintarelli Valpolicella Classico Superiore Veneto Italy 750 ml

When we think of bottles that embody painstaking, patient winemaking—Château d’Yquem, Vega Sicilia’s Unico—the wines of Giuseppe Quintarelli are always near the top of that list. Named for the vintner who took over his family’s estate as a young man and passed away 60 years later in 2012, Quintarelli wines represent the summit of Valpolicella intensity and grace.

Quintarelli’s 2013 Valpolicella Classico Superiore is a one-of-a-kind bottle that you’ll find in the world’s great restaurants and wine collections. Grown in the limestone and basalt of the family’s 27-acre estate in the hills north of Verona, it’s a blend of the region’s native Corvina, Corvinone, and Rondinella grapes, half of them freshly picked and pressed and the other half dried for two months à la Amarone. After fermentation and several months’ rest, the wine is racked onto Amarone pomace, Ripasso-style, sparking a second fermentation. Once that's complete, the wine spends a staggering seven years in large Slavonian oak barrels.

The result is more than one of Italy’s must-experience wines. It’s one of the most special wines in the world, an opaque midnight-purple elixir bursting with dark cherry compote and fresh mint on the nose, topped by loads of graphite, cassis, and vanilla. The body is full and rich, with ample alcohol, tannin, and acid creating a harmonious balance throughout. 

Opening a bottle of Quintarelli’s Valpolicella Classico is an occasion in itself—one in which we wish every wine lover could partake.