Accessible, bold and packed with dark fruit, the 2015 Amarone della Valpolicella l'Amarone delivers a robust but ultimately less nuanced expression from Northeast Italy. The blend here is 75% Corvina Veronese, 20% Corvinone and 5% Rondinella (a grape that adds color saturation and darkness). The folks at La Collina dei Ciliegi go with an extended appassimento process, lasting the full 120 days, resulting in deeper power and concentration as a result. This wine is fermented on the skins for 30 days, and although it does not ferment to complete dryness, the residual sugar is more apparent in terms of volume and texture than it is taste per se. This wine offers a bunch of dark fruit and savory spice, and it would be nice with some marinated tri-tip on the grill. Some 12,000 bottles were made.

Made with a traditional blend of Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella grapes, the 2012 Amarone della Valpolicella l'Amarone is a darkly saturated red wine with bold aromas of dried cherry, Spanish cedar and exotic spice. This full-bodied red wine delivers an evident level of sweetness and dark fruit extraction. The wine wraps thickly over the palate with soft tannins and significant density. This Amarone benefits from the hot vintage.

The 2008 Amarone della Valpolicella L’Amarone is an 80-10-10 blend of Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella, aged in oak for 24 months after a long appassimento. Perhaps due to the uneven vintage, the mouthfeel is shorter than expected. L’Amarone revs up with pretty aromas of dark cherry, spice and cured meat but the finish fades fast. Drink 2014-2018. Massimo Gianolli runs the 45-hectare La Collina dei Ciliegi (“the hill of cherries”) in the Valpantena subzone of Valpolicella. Today, 15 hectares are planted to grapevines. A newcomer to the area, production started in 2005. Massimo runs most of his business through his office in Milan. Importer: SLJ Group Inc., Lionstone International, www.lionstone.com