Masi Campolongo di Torbe Amarone Classico 2009 ‘Cantina Privata Boscaini’ has been rated one of the 100 best wines in the world by influential American wine writer and critic James Suckling.
Masi is one of travel retail’s most succesful wine companies, synonymous with great Amarone and other outstanding wines from the Veneto.
Suckling ranks Masi’s wine at number 59 in his classification, the first of only two wines from the Veneto to make the 2016 list. He tasted some 10,000 wines to compile the list.
Masi Marketing Director Raffaele Boscaini said: “The success of Campolongo di Torbe 2009 in Suckling’s list is validation for the idea of cru wines that Masi pioneered in Italy starting in the 1950s, having realised even then the quality potential for wines coming from a single vineyard.
“The cru for this Amarone dates back to 1958 and is the ultimate expression of one of the finest terroirs of Valpolicella Classica. This wine belongs to our ‘liquid treasures collection’, the Cantina Privata Boscaini, together with other crus such as Mazzano, produced in limited quantities and only in the best vintages.”
Writing on James Suckling.com, the man behind the ranking said: “What a time to be a wine critic. I can’t think of many years more exciting to be one than 2016. We rated no less than 20 perfect wines after tasting more than 10,000 bottles, and our Top 10 are all rated 100 points. All the wines in our list were tasted from bottle, so barrel samples were not included. That’s why we didn’t include categories like 2015 Bordeaux, which is a fantastic vintage but not available in bottle until 2018.
“In a departure from last year’s emphasis on top-scoring value wines, we focused strictly on pure quality for this year’s Top 100. Most of the 100-point wines were from Italy and Napa Valley, and I believe that 2013 could be the latter’s greatest vintage. Napa produced rich and structured cabernet sauvignon-based wines, while the 2010 vintage in Tuscany made phenomenal Brunello di Montalcinos. Wines like these will serve as reference points for wine lovers around the world and will be benchmarks for generations to come. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for 2013 Bordeaux, which was a disappointing vintage and didn’t come close to cracking the Top 100 with the exception of dry and sweet whites.”
Suckling’s top five wines were:
- Opus One Napa Valley 2013 (USA)
- Viñedo Chadwick Cabernet Sauvignon(Chile)
- Renieri Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2010 (Italy)
- Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial 1986 (Spain)
- Catena Zapata Adrianna Vineyard Malbec Mendoza Fortuna Terrae 2012 (Argentina)
Note: Coming soon: Look out for a new wine column in association written by Martin Moodie in which he reviews travel retail wine offers. First up – Nice Côte D’Azur Airport.
