Heavy oak tones of roasted nut or toasted bread give this wine a brawny, masculine feel. In fact, you’ll taste some of those new wood tannins in the mouth along with fresh notes of cherry and cassis. Give this Amarone two or three more years of bottle aging to soften up. ——M.L.(12/1/2011)—— 89

Amarone Capitel de’ Roari delivers a crisp, lean expression that showcases Valpolicella winemaking tradition. The only out-of-place elements are the oak shadings that comes across as toasted nut, leather and dried tobacco. ——M.L.(2/1/2011)—— 87

This is a smooth and rich Amarone with equal parts jammy fruit set against a smokey oak component. The wine slides nicely over the palate with a lavish, velvety texture and imparts more oak spice and mesquite on the close. ——M.L.(2/1/2011)—— 88

Give this oaky Amarone a few more years in the bottle to allow the wood elements to come into line. Cherry fruit does exist beyond the lavish layers of Spanish cedar and toast, and the wine comes together nicely in the mouth thanks to its velvety tannins and smooth feel. ——M.L.(12/1/2008)—— 87