Novaia Le Balze Riserva Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2007

The 2007 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva Vigneto Le Balze is a big boy in appearance but a softy in spirit. I've tasted this wine several times over the past few years and am fascinated by its clean evolutionary path. By the way, the 2008 vintage was not produced, so 2007 is what you still find on the market today. In order to achieve smaller yields, the Le Balze vineyard was changed from Pergola to Guyot a dozen years ago. The wine delivers deep concentration and heat (15% alcohol) followed by ethereal tones of barbecued herbs, smoked bacon and dried cherries. The tannins are firm and polished but they keep the wine neatly stitched together. You can wait to drink it, but not too long. Drink 2014-2020. Score - 93. (Monica Larner, erobertparker.com, Oct. 2013)