The 2011 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Gioé delivers very pronounced ripeness that is a little too much for my tastes. The bouquet offers cherry liqueur and cough drop with baking spice and hot road paving. The alcohol clocks in at 15.5% on fruit (Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella) dried in the fruttaio for up to 120 days. The wine feels heavy and extracted on the finish.

The 2007 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Gioé is being released to celebrate Santa Sofia's 50th anniversary (1964-2014). Much like the base 2009 Amarone, this is a darkly concentrated and fleshy wine with an enormous sense of power and density that transcends both the bouquet and the mouthfeel. The nose is redolent of dark spice and ripe fruit, while the palate is treated to thick density and chewy sweetness. Oak-driven tones of Indian spice and tertiary notes of licorice also play leading roles. The tannins are chunky and thick-boned. Drink this wine within the next ten years.