The Italy Wine Project

Regions / Veneto

DOCGStill huntingModerate

Recioto della Valpolicella DOCG

The original dried-grape wine of Valpolicella; Amarone began as a Recioto that fermented dry by accident. Grapes are dried for three to four months and fermentation is stopped early, leaving a sweet red of 12 to 14 percent alcohol with 80 to 120 grams of sugar. Expect black cherry jam, dried fig, cocoa, black tea and a balsamic note, with enough acid and tannin to keep it from feeling cloying. It's the wine to pour with dark chocolate or aged Monte Veronese cheese, and top versions from Quintarelli or Bertani age for decades.

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Bottles I'm chasing

ProducerWinePriceBuy
Tommasi
Recioto della Valpolicella Classico Fiorato
The easiest one to find in the US and the best value; cherry jam and cocoa with a clean, moderately sweet finish.
$22 to $28Wine-Searcher
Allegrini
Recioto della Valpolicella Classico Giovanni Allegrini
Named for the founder, fresher and more red-fruited than most, with a long, bitter-chocolate finish; Winebow imports.
$45 to $60Wine-Searcher
Bertani
Recioto della Valpolicella Classico
Traditional and balanced, dried cherry, orange peel and black tea, from the house that also makes the archetypal Amarone.
$40 to $55Wine-Searcher