Had the pleasure of tasting 3 wines from Michele Castellani tonight. All three were excellent and one was a great QPR!

2003 Valpolicella Classico 'Borgata'

Very expressive scent of plum and cedar. Flavors of black cherry, raisin, blackberry and vanilla. Medium body and quite complex. Finish is dry with moderate tannins and raspberry. 89 points.

2000 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Castei Monte Cristi

Kind of an earthy nose of mushroom and blackberry. Full bodied, creamy texture with plum, chocolate and vanilla. Maybe just a little bit over ripe but very good otherwise. Lots of toasty vanilla and marshmallow flavors on the finish. 89 points.

1999 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Cinque Stelle

Very subtle aromas of plum and mahogany. Very dark, and huge on the palate with a burst of raisin, cherry, plum and spices. Full bodied with a long, lingering finish with lots of vanilla, chocolate and mocha. This is just now emerging but could be even better in a few years. 92 points.

Is this the first time you've had wines from Castellani? They're ones that I always enjoy. Glad you liked them! (And psst ... check out the Campo Casalin Amarone!)

I'll second futronic's recommendation, specifically the 1999.

*whine* I can't find anyone to sell them (Cinque Stelle or Campo Casalin) to me! Everyone who says they have them come back and say, Oops, they're out of stock, we'll look for some and get back to you.

Where'd you get to try them?

This is the first time I've had wines from Castellani. I was quite impressed. At the tasting the daughter of the winemaker (sorry I don't remember her name) brought these 3 wines and a Soave. I didn't take any notes on the Soave (I should have) but it was very good, if not a bit light, very well balanced, very fresh and crisp, and quite dry for a Soave. My impression was that it would be a great wine with seafood. Since you and Board-O both recommend it, I will try a bottle of the Campo Casalin as I can get it but it wasn't part of the tasting.

Lentini, I got to try them at a Enoteca that we go to frequently. They weren't going to get a whole lot of any of the wines but I did see a couple of cases of each.

I hope you realize that is the only time I've ever recommended an Italian wine on this site. futronic brought it to an offline.

Board-O,

I know how you feel about Italian wines in general, "I've had some that are very good but never great", correct me if I've misquoted you, that's why I will have to try this wine! If you and futronic both recommend it, I figure I can't go wrong!