The 2017 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Sant'Urbano is dusty and darkly alluring, as dried flowers and incense gives way to nuances of cocoa and, with time in the glass, a vivid note of black cherry. This is texturally deep and savory in style, coming across as almost salty in character, with an intense and saturating core of raspberry and cherry. Exotic spices, dark, dark chocolate and clove develop toward the close. This tapers off long and staining, lightly structured, needing only a short stay in the cellar to come together. Speri did a remarkable job of maintaining balance in such a warm and difficult vintage.

The organic Speri 2017 Valpolicella Classico Superiore Sant'Urbano shows sweet raspberry and cherry confit with lots of extra richness and fruity concentration. This hot-vintage wine opens to an immediate and sunny personality that reflects the warmth and dry conditions of the 2017 growing season. The soft and rich approach offered here could pair with a plate of meat-filled ravioli with extra grated cheese on top. This is a blend of 70% Corvina and Corvinone, 20% Rondinella and 10% Molinara, all aged in 500-liter tonneaux for 24 months.

Floral and high-toned on the nose, this light-footed red offers a spicy underpinning and brambly notes of wild cherry and strawberry fruit, while Black tea leaf and salty mineral notes show through on the finish. There's focus here, and depth to the flavor range, but in weight and form it's akin to a lighter, brighter style of Valpolicella. Drink now through 2024.