Winemaker Notes
Very dark ruby red in color, the Costasera Amarone Classico offers aromas of baked fruit, plums and cherries on the nose. Fruity tastes, with hints of coffee and cocoa follow on the palate. Very well balanced.
Excellent as an after-dinner wine, or to go with red meat, game, quails and richly flavored dishes. Very good with well-aged cheeses, such as parmesan, pecorino and gorgonzola.
Professional Ratings
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PinotReport
A restrained and reductive style, showing aromas of bay leaves, red and black cherries and a whiff of flowers. Full-bodied, it has a compact profile on the palate with ripe and velvety tannins, tight-knit acidity and a superprecise finish. A bit technical and young at the moment but very good. It is drinkable now, but wait for more complexity to develop. Try from 2030.
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Vinous
The 2020 Amarone Classico Costasera takes its time blossoming in the glass. It is dusty and hauntingly dark, with a whiff of dried flowers and crushed rocks that slowly evolve into wild blueberries, shavings of dark chocolate and nuances of mint. Elegant and refined, it has silken textures and a contrasting mix of sour cherries offset by sweet spice and a twang of blood orange. A coating of fine tannins frames the finish as the 2020 leaves savory herbal tones and hints of clove that linger on and on. This is a fantastic vintage for the Costasera, which I expect may get even better with time. Rating: 93+
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Masi 2020 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Costasera (made with 70% Corvina, 25% Rondinella and 5% Molinara) shows dark fruit ripeness with meaty cherry and blackberry. Thanks to the younger vintage, you can appreciate the wine's primary intensity. A potent 15% alcohol content and a full-bodied texture sets this bottle up for a pairing with polenta and sausage. Tart cherry appears as a final send-off.
Masi's production strategy aims to emphasize the personality of each single product, while maintaining a recognizable Venetian style. In 1958, Masi was in the forefront of the work to identify the historic "cru" vineyard sites for Amarone. In 1964, Campofiorin was the first in a new category of wines, reinventing the technique of double fermentation and continually updating it. Masi has also updated the style of Amarone, using new appassimento and vinification technologies.
Masi wines are modern, attractive, well-balanced and easily identifiable; characteristics which have earned Masi recognition for having "revolutionized the art of wine-making in the Venetian region." Hugh Johnson defines Masi as "a touchstone for Veronese wines."
With hundreds of red grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended red wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged resulting in a wide variety of red wine styles. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a red wine blend variety that creates a fruity and full-bodied wine would do well combined with one that is naturally high in acidity and tannins. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
How to Serve Red Wine
A common piece of advice is to serve red wine at “room temperature,” but this suggestion is imprecise. After all, room temperature in January is likely to be quite different than in August, even considering the possible effect of central heating and air conditioning systems. The proper temperature to aim for is 55° F to 60° F for lighter-bodied reds and 60° F to 65° F for fuller-bodied wines.
How Long Does Red Wine Last?
Once opened and re-corked, a bottle stored in a cool, dark environment (like your fridge) will stay fresh and nicely drinkable for a day or two. There are products available that can extend that period by a couple of days. As for unopened bottles, optimal storage means keeping them on their sides in a moderately humid environment at about 57° F. Red wines stored in this manner will stay good – and possibly improve – for anywhere from one year to multiple decades. Assessing how long to hold on to a bottle is a complicated science. If you are planning long-term storage of your reds, seek the advice of a wine professional.
Producing every style of wine and with great success, the Veneto is one of the most multi-faceted wine regions of Italy.
Veneto's appellation called Valpolicella (meaning “valley of cellars” in Italian) is a series of north to south valleys and is the source of the region’s best red wine with the same name. Valpolicella—the wine—is juicy, spicy, tart and packed full of red cherry flavors. Corvina makes up the backbone of the blend with Rondinella, Molinara, Croatina and others playing supporting roles. Amarone, a dry red, and Recioto, a sweet wine, follow the same blending patterns but are made from grapes left to dry for a few months before pressing. The drying process results in intense, full-bodied, heady and often, quite cerebral wines.
Soave, based on the indigenous Garganega grape, is the famous white here—made ultra popular in the 1970s at a time when quantity was more important than quality. Today one can find great values on whites from Soave, making it a perfect choice as an everyday sipper! But the more recent local, increased focus on low yields and high quality winemaking in the original Soave zone, now called Soave Classico, gives the real gems of the area. A fine Soave Classico will exhibit a round palate full of flavors such as ripe pear, yellow peach, melon or orange zest and have smoky and floral aromas and a sapid, fresh, mineral-driven finish.
Much of Italy’s Pinot grigio hails from the Veneto, where the crisp and refreshing style is easy to maintain; the ultra-popular sparkling wine, Prosecco, comes from here as well.