By dehydrating the fruit (appassimento), much of the water content is removed resulting in a wine of higher concentration. The most famous example of this style is Amarone which is dried for several months. Tommasi has used a shorter duration of appassimento for their Arele and for only a portion of the fruit in this blend of Corvina Veronese, Rondinella, Oseleta and Merlot. The culmination exhibits a wonderful juicy sweet cherry and chocolate core followed by hints of red apple skin and spice notes on the finish. At a fraction of the price of the great Amarone, this is ready to drink, though I did find it even better the next day. Decant 1-2 hrs before and serve slightly chilled. Tasted April 2012.

This wine opens up with aromas of sour cherry, plums, leather and spices notes. On the mouthfeel, medium bodied with alcohol coming in at 13%, an interesting tug of war between sweet and sour fruits, lively acidity and firm tannins. Slightly short on the finish with sweet flavours winning the war with sweet cherry pie, savoury notes and light tannins lingering. This wine is better served slightly chilled to tame the tartness and give more chance for the fruit to shine. Best enjoyed served with food, overall I enjoyed it. Too many wine these days are too sweet, this one had better complexity than most at $17.95, enjoyed in May 2012.