The 2017 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico opens with a minty freshness, as bright red berries and dusty dried

A lively, medium- to full-bodied red, round and well-balanced, offering an enticing range of steeped cherry and fig cake flavors with accents of dried thyme, pomegranate and espresso. Creamy, lightly spiced finish. Corvina, Rondinella, Corvinone and Oseleta. Drink now through 2026. 29,000 cases made, 2,500 cases imported.

This has a shy nose that eventually reveals whiffs of stewed prune, leather and tilled earth. The solid palate offers baked plum, candied raisin and a dollop of vanilla alongside polished, rather relaxed tannins before a bitter almond finish. Drink through 2026.