Masi Costasera Amarone della Valpolicella 2018

Mouse over image to zoom

Masi
Costasera Amarone della Valpolicella 2018

Vintage : 2018
Country : Italy
Region : Veneto
Subregion
Type : Red
Style Deep Full Bodied
Format : 75cl
Alcohol : 15°
Grappes : 70% Corvina, 25% Rondinella, 5% Molinara

Proud, majestic, complex and exuberant: this is Masi's gentle giant. A benchmark for the Amarone category, which, together with Barolo and Brunello, makes up the aristocracy of the Italian wine world.

Experts		Score	Vintage
JS	James Suckling	94	2017
WE	Wine Enthusiast	94	2017
RP	Robert Parker	93	2015
WS	Wine Spectator	91	2012
DCT	Decanter	91	2012
W&S	Wines & Spirits	90	2012

More information on wine critics and ratings

Description
Reviews

The product of Masi's unrivalled expertise in the appassimento technique, whereby traditional grapes for the Valpolicella Classica area - Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara - are laid out on bamboo racks to concentrate their aromas during the winter months.

Look: very dark ruby red.
Nose: baked fruit, plums and cherries.
Palate: fruity tastes, with hints of coffee and cocoa. Very well balanced.

James Suckling (JS) : 94 Points (2017)

A really fresh and well-balanced Amarone here, with tapenade, ripe but fresh blackberries, chili chocolate and some red berries, too. This is tight and juicy, with a medium-to full-bodied palate and a long, fruity finish. A modern, fresh expression of Amarone that shows immense drinkability, but still pretty serious. Not super-concentrated, but shows restraint and balance. Drink or hold.

Wine Enthusiast (WE) : 94 Points (2017)

The wine is quite reserved on the nose to start, but with a decant it opens up nicely. The wine has aromas of red-cherry preserve, ripe plum, clove, anise and cinnamon. The palate is elegant with notes of dried leaves, dark chocolate and dark cherries. The tannins are already well integrated, giving the wine a magni??cent texture. Expect to enjoy this for a while Best from 2025–2035.

Robert Parker (RP) : 93 Points (2015)

Vintners in Valpolicella love the 2015 vintage because it produced the dry conditions and warm temperatures that are perfect for appassimento, or air-drying fruit. The Masi 2015 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Costasera opens to a dark-garnet and velvety-rich appearance. The bouquet offers lots of depth and power, especially in terms of those savory tones of smoked spice and leather. The spice frames a core of baked fruit and sweet blackberry confit. This is a round and supple blend of 70% Corvina, 25% Rondinella and 5% Molinara (aged mostly in Slavonian oak with some Allier for up to 30 months). Production is a generous 620,000 bottles.

Wine Spectator (WS) : 91 Points (2012)

Light, grippy tannins frame this medium- to full-bodied red, which leans toward the traditional style, with a firm structure and notes of cured tobacco and forest floor. Well-knit and silky on the palate, offering ripe crushed cherry and tarry smoke notes. Drink now through 2027. (AN) (10/2017)

Decanter (DCT) : 91 Points (2012)

This has a confected red cherry nose with a note of bubblegum, giving way to dense black fruit on the palate that has a pleasant bitter edge alongside complex sweet spice and liquorice notes. The tannins are supple, resulting in a substantial mouthfeel that cradles the black fruit long into the finish. (SW) (11/2017)

Wines & Spirits (W&S) : 90 Points (2012)

Notes of salted caramel and bitter chocolate swirl through this wine’s flavors of baked plum and sour cherry. The wine feels rich and velvety, yet finishes dry and spicy. (2/2018)