Tenuta Il Crinale Sprigione Marche Rosso I.G.T 2012

97 Point Luca Maroni 

It is matured in small oak barrels. It's character reflects it's genuine origin in the Arche region and it is particularly well suited with roasted meats and sharp cheeses. ruby red color of medium intensity. scent of ripe black cherry, with hints of chocolate and hints of vanilla and liquor ice. intense body, balanced tannin structure that remains intact for a long time.

The Il Crinale Sprigione wines of Quintarelli are more a celebration of a region and its history and techniques than of specific grape varieties or terroirs. They are really more about the art of the blend, the patience of extended aging in cask and bottle, and the use of appassimento and ripasso techniques to further enhance complexity and age-worthiness.

That’s why Il Crinale Sprigione as a single-vineyard expression is a bit of an anomaly. Rather than being a single-vineyard wine, it is the opportunity for the Quintarellis to have a little more freedom with the blend outside of the school of Valpolicella.

Always more primary than the Valpolicella, it showcases dark, palate-staining fruit that one must marvel at, given the wine’s age. Cà del Merlo is succulent and luscious, balanced beautifully by the imprint of the stony limestone and basalt hills on which the grapes are grown.