Masi Costasera Amarone Classico Riserva 2012
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Winemaker Notes
Proud, majestic, complex and exuberant: this is a special cru version of Masi's gentle giant, Costasera. A benchmark for the Amarone category, which, together with Barolo and Brunello, makes up the aristocracy of the Italian wine world. Opaque dark red. Intense, super-ripe fruit, cinnamon, vanilla. Warm and satisfying, baked fruit, sweet spices, cooked cherries, cloves, dry and long finish. Attractively long finish.
Ideal with red meat, game and mature cheeses. Fine after-dinner drink.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Syrupy, dark and very rich, the 2012 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva Costasera is a full-bodied red wine and a very nice one indeed. Tar and tobacco appear in the mouth, with a very thick and velvety texture balanced with a 15.5% alcohol content. This is a hot-vintage blend of 70% Corvina, 15% Rondinella, 10% Oseleta and 5% Molinara that sees a long appassimento period of up to 120 days. With up to 40 months of oak aging in 600-liter Slavonian casks, this wine shows dark concentration, black fruit flavors and thick intensity. The mouthfeel is seamless; however, the wine definitely flexes its muscles, something you'd serve with a Hungarian goulash and freshly baked bread, for example. Some 46,000 bottles were made.
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James Suckling
A rich and fruity red with chocolate and berry character. Full body, round and velvety tannins and a flavorful finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
Cocoa, baked plum, toast, culinary spice, and leather aromas shape the nose. Full-bodied and elegant, the smooth, dense palate doles out fleshy black cherry, blackberry jam, licorice, and clove while velvety tannins provide structure. It closes on an espresso note. Cellar Selection
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Tasting Panel
Sleek and flavorful with spiciness and toasty black fruit; intense, charming, and long from one of the giants of the region.
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Wine Spectator
Tobacco and smoke notes on the nose herald this balanced Amarone, echoing a more traditional style, yet firm tannins are well-meshed with flavors of black currant, date and Earl Grey tea.
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Wine & Spirits
A con- centrated and smoky Amarone, this blend includes ten percent oseleta, a thick-skinned variety that contributes black fruit flavors and structure. Harvested from slopes over- looking Lake Garda, the grapes air-dried for four months, culminating in a wine rich in flavors of black plum, dried cherry and fig. Layers of bitter chocolate and fresh tobacco unfold as the wine opens, even as the refresh- ing acidity draws out the fruit through the finish.
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James
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James
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Robert
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James
Suckling -
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Robert
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James
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Robert
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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.