Giuseppe Quintarelli 'Primofiore' IGT 2007 (Veneto)

This is the entry point red from famed Amarone producer Quintarelli. There is Corvina and Corvinone here, but not Rondinella or Molinara grapes. Bringing up the rest of the blend is some Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Some of the fruit spent time racked and boxed, as per Amarone method, prior to crushing and fermentation.

The name of the wine, 'Primofiore', means first press. Fruit destined for Quintarelli's Amarone barrels is crushed with the free-run juice sent to Amarone and some of the first pressings sent into the Primofiore. A kind of reverse Ripasso, in a way.

I wanted to like this, tasted without reading about the wine, alongside smoked ham, good bread and salads. There are red fruits of interest, mostly cherried in flavour, with a bit of an olive character. There is length and persistence here too, a light and brightly-acidic expression of the Veneto.

But fundamentally this wine is simply too green. There is a dominant green bean character pressing down on all other aspects of the wine, with capsicum spice threaded through as well. This mix of green smells and flavours, overweighting the red fruits, gives a sense of stuffing-absent, of under-ripeness verging on shrill.

There are better ways to spend $90 than on this wine. A fine producer, but give this one a miss.

$90, purchase, cork, 13.5%.