2003 Masi Costasera Amarone

I don't have the opportunity to taste that much Amarone, even though it's actually one of my favorite types of wine on the earth. It's often just a touch above the price range that I'm willing to spend for a bottle of wine for the dinner table, unless of course it's for a special occasion. However, I popped a split-bottle of this 03' the other night to pair with a beautiful buffalo tenderloin dish that was prepared for me at the bistro next to the wine shop where I work. Needless to say the pairing was amazing and the wine showed beautifully. Anyways, here's my tasting notes:

The color of the wine still had a dark red core, but it did show signs of fading to a lighter and almost brick-red color towards the edges of the glass.

On the nose I got prunes, black plum, stewed cherry, hints of leather, and tobacco. As the wine opened up new layers and complexity would reveal themselves such as brown sugar, white pepper, earth, and blueberry.

On the palate I got a very nice and voluptuous texture and flavors that reminded me of black plum, tobacco, brandied cherries, chocolate truffle, coco powder, and powdered sugar. There is a touch of alcohol that peeks through on the finish, but that is almost to be expected with aged Amarone. 91+ points

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