BY ANTONIO GALLONI | NOVEMBER 14, 2017
CASTELLO DI AMA L’APPARITA RETROSPECTIVE 1988-2013 Vintage: 2013
Score: 98
The 2013 L’Apparita gets this tasting off to a very strong start. Fresh, perfumed and totally sensual, the 2013 speaks to finesse above all else. In 2013, L’Apparita is feminine, medium in body and remarkably nuanced. It’s almost a shame to start the tasting with a wine of this caliber, but even after several hours pass, the 2013 retains its status as one of the most memorable wines of the afternoon. In a word: sublime.
Vintage: 2011
Score: 95
Ama’s 2011 L’Apparita makes for a fascinating comparison with the 2013 in this pairing. A rich, ample Merlot, the 2011 captures all the textural breadth of the warm vintage while retaining quite a bit of freshness. As good as the 2011 is, it can’t quite keep up with the 2013. The tannins in particular are large in grain, especially next to some of the other wines in this vertical.
Vintage: 2009
Score: 96
Powerful and dense in the glass, the 2009 L’Apparita packs a serious punch. There is an explosive energy to the 2009 that is impossible to miss. At the same time, the wine exudes freshness, especially within the context of the warm year. Expressive notes add lift to the radiant fruit in this super-expressive Apparita.
Vintage: 2008
Score: 95
A more exotic side of this site emerges from the 2008 L’Apparita. According to Marco Pallanti, the weather was quite warm in 2008. Rain towards the end of the season was more problematic for the later-ripening varieties, but that was not an issue for the Merlot. Black cherry, plum, smoke and licorice overtones add to an impression of darkness. Silky, beautifully ripe tannins and unctuous fruit with the natural richness that is achieved in late harvests add to the wine’s considerable appeal. This is one of my favorite wines of the afternoon.
Vintage: 2006
Score: 98
The 2006 L’Apparita is one of the most reticent wines in this tasting. Vibrant and explosive in feel, the 2006 comes across as very tight today. Readers will have to be patient, but all the ingredients are present for the 2006 to develop into a more expressive and representative Apparita with further time in bottle.
Vintage: 2004
Score: 99
The star of the show, the 2004 L’Apparita is simply phenomenal. It is also the only wine in this vertical served from magnum, which almost certainly makes a big difference in how the wine shows. Fresh, nuanced and polished, the 2004 brings together power and finesse in a way that is thrilling. I went back to 2004 at the end of the tasting and it was even better. What a wine!
Vintage: 2001
Score: 96
The 2001 L’Apparita is a big, virile wine with exotic overtones that recall the 2008. Dark cherry, plum, mocha and smoke run through this decidedly virile, imposing wine.
Vintage: 1997
Score: 94
A more extracted style emerges in tasting the 1997 L’Apparita. Hints of tobacco, dried cherry, spice and crushed flowers are all indicative of a wine that has lost some freshness and that is close to being fully mature. In this tasting, the 1997 is the wine that marks a very clear dividing line between the style favored at Ama in the 1980s and 1990s and the choices that inform the wines today.
Vintage: 1992
Score: 93
This last flight of wines from Ama’s early days is fascinating. The 1992 L’Apparita is a dark, powerful wine, especially for its age. Surprisingly intense, the 1992 has handled its oak beautifully and has also aged very nicely. Although the 1992 is fully mature, it also has enough freshness to hold for at least a few years.
Vintage: 1991
Score: 91
Tasted after the 1992, the 1991 L’Apparita is a touch more faded and oxidative in style, with a slightly gamy profile and dried out fruit that suggest it is fully mature. Even so, the 1991 has held up very nicely.
Vintage: 1990
Score: 95
The 1990 L’Apparita is the most impressive wine in this last flight. The warm, ripe vintage, considered legendary at the time, produced rich, unusually sumptuous wines. That is exactly what comes through here. Perhaps even more importantly, the 1990 has enough fruit intensity and structure to handle the extracted style and heavy French oak that was in vogue at the time. What a gorgeous wine it is.
Vintage: 1988
Score: 92
The 1988 L’Apparita is starting to fray, but, it, too, has aged very nicely. Game, smoke, tobacco and mocha notes are all signatures of a wine that is perhaps a bit past peak. Looking back, though, the 1988 has aged well considering the vines were quite young at the time and that these were very early days in Castello di Ama’s present-day history.