Last night, November 21st, the Sons of Bacchus (SOB's for short) and a Daughter of Dionysus assembled at the home of Gilles Nicault (Long Shadows) for a tasting of Amarone wines. Amarone is a designation for specially fermented Valpolicella from the region around Verona in the Italian Veneto. The principal grape is Corvino, although some other varieties are permitted. A special guest of the group was Gino Cuneo, proprietor and winemaker of Gino Cuneo Cellars in Walla Walla, which specializes in Italian varietal wines, including amarone styled ones. He provided the group with informative insights on the wines and their winemaking.

There are two main styles of Amarone: dry, called Amarone Classico, and sweet, called Recioto della Valpolicella, although the latter becomes drier with age. Traditionally, grapes were dried on straw mats to concentrate the flavors. Today, special racks are used for the process.

Twelve wines were tasted in three flights of four. Here are the top wines from each flight, with my notes and scores.

1976 Bertaini Recioto della Valpolicella Amarone - Deep garnet colored, this wine emited pungent aromas of crushed roses, dried orange peel and peppery. Now nearly dry, it was a fine example of aged Amarone. 19.5/20 points.

1990 Bertani Recioto della Valpolicella Amarone - This comes on like a younger version of the above, with a less developed bouquet and less complex flavors, very impressive nevertheless. 19/20 points.

2008 Zenato Amarone della Valpolicella Classico - The youngest Amarone tasted, this showed a deep ruby color and a rich sweet berry nose, with scents of dried roses and oriental perfumes and sturdy, direct flavors. 19/20 points.

2006 Accordino Agino Amarone della Valpolicella Classico - Another younger Amarone, this showed a deep ruby color and a rich, berried nose of dried fruits and roses, oriental perfumes and incense, and deep, muscular flavors. 19/20 points.

2004 Gaspari Recioto della Valpolicella Amarone - This is a fine example of a Recioto that is just beginning to mature. Lovely aromas of crushed roses, sandalwood, and incense with elegant, sweetish-dry flavors that linger on the finish. 19+/20 points.

2006 Zenato Amarone della Valpolicella Riserva - Opaque purplish color, this came on like a elegantly styled younger Amarone. It possessed lovely aromas of dried roses, orange peel and violets, with lush sweet-dry fruit flavors. It will have a great future. 19+/20 points, potential 19.5+.

Afterwards, there was a bonus 13th wine. It showed a deep purplish color and a lovely perfumed nose of roses and violets and tasty sweet-dry fruit flavors. It was Gino Cuneo's 2011 "Nebarro" Red Wine, a "secco" style blend of Nebbiolo and Barbera (hence, the name). I will be visiting Gino in the near future and will be reviewing his wines.

Thanks to Gilles for his hospitality and to Gino for his insights.