2018 Covalli Amarone della Valpolicella Veneto 750 ml

Covalli’s 2018 Amarone della Valpolicella has absolutely zero business being this price.

Because of the labor-intensive process to produce it, quality Amarone often costs at least $40 these days, and even that price is low. Producers like Covalli work just as hard in the vineyard as their peers in Barolo or Brunello, but end up with substantially less wine because Amarone requires semi-dried grapes, and therefore results in less volume.

After a handpicked harvest, the wine team dries the grapes for three to four months in specialized lofts. The drying concentrates everything: sugars, aromas, flavors, and—crucially, to maintain balance—acids. Only after the grapes have lost a third of their water volume does the winemaking begin.

It’s a labor of love, even in terrific vintages like 2018, a year that jancisrobinson.com noted had “near-perfect weather during harvest.” The Wine Advocate called the vintage “outstanding,” and “ready to drink.”

It all adds up to a grand, orchestral effect in the glass—which makes the bottling you’ll be buying today a star, full of black plum, preserved strawberry, black currant, licorice, new leather, and dark chocolate. Bold and forward on the palate, it has a tight-grained spice element which shows off some sweet oak tones. For the price and quality, almost nothing else can touch it in the entire Veneto, so move fast.

It’s no wonder our Master Sommelier, Sur Lucero, wrote “There’s a lot of wine in this bottle for the money.” Don’t sleep on this: Amarone this far south of $40 is an endangered species and is getting rarer by the day.