Jesús Barquín: Perhaps the most classic example among the 2009s and 2008s tasted in the first flight. A whiff of VA, earthy tannins, and well-integrated alcohol. Long finish with very ripe black fruit. Textbook classic Amarone, though not among the greatest. 16

Nicolas Belfrage: Medium deep, with ruby reflections. Ripe berry fruit on nose. Chunky but with a certain finesse; alcohol is hefty, and sweetness is Porty, but the bitter twist at the back balances the sweetness, and the length is good. Could drink in a year but better in three. 16

Andrew Jefford: Deep, dense black-red in color. Fresh cherry and plum, pounded to a paste and sweetened in the sun. On the palate, this is splendid: concentrated and long, with impressively tannin-thickened textures and exceptionally good fruit definition. (Fruit definition is a key quality to look for in fine Amarone, since it can easily get lost if any part of the long process is casually executed.) It has that haunting, crushed-kernel quality that only seems to be accentuated in the best of these wines by the drying process. For me, this is a benchmark Amarone that I would love to sip the length of a game of chess. 16.5