This wine is made with a traditional Amarone blend that sees Corvina and Corvinone Veronese in starring roles with a smaller part played by Rondinella, and it has a full 100 days of drying in the fruttaio. The 2013 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva Caterina Zardini is a full-bodied and powerful Amarone to pair with an aged T-bone steak on the grill. This wine produces heavy layers of dark, dried, jammy fruit with prune, plum and raisins followed by Indian spice, barbecue smoke and a brushing of delicate balsam herb or cola on the mid-palate. The seven grams per liter of residual sugar (with 15.5% alcohol) add to the wine's distinctively powerful mouthfeel and full-bodied texture. It ages in barrique for 18 months, with the fruit sourced from a 36-hectare property located in Marano di Valpolicella. About 20,000 bottles were made.

The 2008 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva Caterina Zardini is a delicious effort with pretty floral notes of dried rose potpourri and church incense. The bouquet starts with highly perfumed aromas and steadily moves toward fruit, tar, spice, and root beer as the wine evolves. It hits all the right marks in terms of intensity and persistency: This is a bold wine that never goes over-the-top. The Giuseppe Campagnola brand has existed since 1907 and has seen five generations at the helm of its winemaking operations. Today, the estate buys fruit from more than 50 growers who collectively farm 80 hectares in the area, 30 of which are located in Valpolicella. The Campagnola brand refers to various wines made in the Verona area and the Caterina Zardini brand is specifically for wines made in Valpolicella. Importer: Superiore Wines, www.superiorewineselections.com