De Buris Amarone Classico Riserva

Wine Enthusiast, Aug/2023

2011 -

Cellar Selection. "This single vineyard Amarone, grown on limestone high in the hills of Valpolicella, represents the depth and beauty of this place and the production method for making Amarone. The wine is at once intense but also lifted and lithe in some respects. Dense and concentrated aromas of black plum, sweet dates and licorice present themselves immediately, but over time floral and exotic spice notes emerge to give balance. Herbal flavors run alongside the dense core of dark fruits, bittersweet chocolate and roasted coffee beans. Luscious with fine tannins and the acidity needed for a wine of its density, this is a stunner. Drink 2025–2040."

Antonio Galloni's Vinous, Mar/2023

2011 -

"The 2011 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva De Bvris lifts from the glass with an eyes-rolling-back-in-your-head bouquet with a captivating mix of cedar shavings, cloves, mint, dried citrus rinds, dried black cherries and tobacco. This is intense and potent, with silky textures giving way to a massive wave of mineral-infused red and black fruits contrasted by a twang of sour citrus. It leaves the palate stained with primary concentration as a bitter tug of cocoa and blackberries under an air of balsamic spice slowly fades. This powerful De Buris should truly come into its own after a few years in the cellar. That said, the 2011 will likely be released in September of 2023."

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, Oct/2023

2011 -

"This is the relatively new top-shelf wine from Tommasi that operates as a brand apart. The 2011 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva De Buris is held back at the winery for long aging and hits the market more than a decade later. Its tertiary aromas are fully developed, but this wine is well endowed with dark fruit intensity that will help it hold for more years to come. Dried blackberry, grilled herb and camphor ash make for a full-force bouquet in old-school Amarone style. The tannins are soft and layered into super thick concentration."

Decanter, Nov/2023

2011 -

"The Tommasi family are important landowners in Valpolicella and produce a wide range of Veronese reds. Their super-premium De Buris selection is produced from the two-hectare La Groletta vineyard overlooking Lake Garda. The wine offers a strong menthol note up front with aromas of fig, prune and dark chocolate. Full and sweet, the palate displays ripe, juicy fruit flavours in an unobtrusive structure, with a gentle and relaxed finish. Fully ready."

James Suckling, Apr/2023

2011 -

"A single vineyard, la Groletta, servicing low yields hewn of old vines and meagre soils. The name of the wine is that of an ancient villa purchased in 2000, equipped with large format Slavonian oak. Released a minimum of 10 years after the harvest. A large-framed, uber savory wine boasting accents of mint, balsamic, maraschino cherry, mahogany, clove, set against a carapace of firm, drying oak tannins. This surely needs time."

Gambero Rosso 2021

2010 -

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, Dec/2021

2010 -

"Here is the anticipated latest release of Tommasi's special high-end release. The 2010 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva De Buris is the wine they want held to the highest standard. It celebrates the family's long winemaking history. The fruit is selected from a 2.4-hectare parcel in La Groletta with calcareous clay soils, medium texture and lots of rocks. The traditional blend used here is 65% Corvina, 22% Corvinone, 5% Rondinella and 8% Oseleta. The wine ages for five slow years in Slavonian oak, and just 8,392 bottles were made. There is deep intensity here, and the wine reveals its bouquet of dark fruits, spice, leather and earth with slow momentum. It offers an elegant mouthfeel with bright acidity and polished level of tannins that can only be achieved with age. However, the fruit at the core of this wine is well preserved, and the wine tastes much younger than it actually is. Of the three editions made so far (including 2008 and 2009), this 2010 vintage stands tallest."

Antonio Galloni's Vinous, Jan/2022

2010 -

"The 2010 Amarone della Valpolicella Riserva De Buris pulls you close with an intense and spicy mix of sour citrus, tart cherries, dusty rose and dark, dark chocolate. I like the lift here, coming across as intensely floral and with an herbal twang that balances its rich fruits. This is silky yet vertical, as cooling acids add balance, saturating the palate with intense spice while becoming quite floral and mineral toward the close. It’s youthfully dense and with amazing potential, leaving the palate coated in fine tannins, nearly silty, along with hints of licorice and bitter spice. The 2010 is simply gorgeous, and with the potential to go two to three decades or more."

Ian D'Agata, Terroir Sense, Jan/2022

2010 -

Best Italian Wines of 2021

Wine Spectator, Oct/2021

2010 -

"Rich, dark notes of coffee liqueur, dates, leather and hot stone are integrated with fruit-forward strawberry preserves, baked cherry and red licorice flavors in this expressive, medium- to full-bodied red. It's finely balanced, creamy and lightly mouthwatering on the palate, with refined tannins and hints of spice and dusty sage emerging on the lingering finish. Corvina, Corvinone, Oseleta and Rondinella. Drink now through 2030." 

James Suckling, Aug/2021

2010 -

"Silky smooth Amarone with peppery red fruit and a spritzy amarena-cherry character. Medium-bodied, it’s a little too relaxed mid-palate, but the tannins are still firm and the fruit remains intact. Drink or hold."

Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate, Sept/2019

2009 -

"I tasted this wine (before its commercial release) next to the 2008 vintage at the winery. The 2009 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva De Buris offers a step up in terms of elegance and tightness, with pretty fruit that wraps over the palate with silky intensity. The bouquet offers dark fruit, dried blackberry, spice, smoke and tar. This vintage also shows an extra layer of mocha or chocolate. The Tommasi family is striving to produce an icon wine from Northern Italy, and this is the closest they have come so far. We should all look forward to future vintages of De Buris."

Antonio Galloni's Vinous, Feb/2021

2009 -

"The 2009 Amarone della Valpolicella Riserva De Buris shows the best of both sides of the Amarone spectrum. Savory raspberry and plum sauce are further complemented by notes of crushed stone and dusty florals. These aromas continue to gain in volume with time in the glass, as they are joined by a seductive display of rich brown spice and mocha. This is velvety in texture yet not weighty; in fact, it’s quite lifted and spry, with a core of concentrated red and black fruits that saturate all that they touch with a mineral tinge and then withdraw to reveal a note of sour citrus. There’s a subtle tug of tannin that lingers, doing a wonderful job of framing the expression, as this tapers off to a bitter twang of tart cherry and dark chocolate. The De Buris is a new cru Riserva from the highest elevations of Tommasi’s La Groletta vineyard, which hosts 30-year-old vines overlooking Lake Garda. It spends the first year of its refinement in Slavonian oak, followed by another five years in 15- to 30-hectoliter casks. This is only the second vintage for this wine, which has been a decade in the making."

Wine & Spirits, Feb/2020

2009 -

"In 2000, the Tommasi family purchased the historic Villa de Buris property as well as 4.7 acres of hilltop vines in La Groletta vineyard, some planted 30 years earlier. They decided to vinify the fruit separately, drying the fruit for 110 days in a dedicated room and aging the wine for five years in 15- to 30-hectoliter oak casks. This is their second release, a densely concentrated Amarone focused on savory notes of smoked meat and roasted mushroom balancing sweeter tones of dried cherry, plum, molasses and dark chocolate. Notes of anise, clove and black pepper linger on the finish."

Meiningers ProWein Sample 2020

2009 -

Wine Spectator, Feb/2020

2009 -

"A beautifully aromatic red, with hints of truffle, loamy earth and dried mint playing on the nose and accenting the baked cherry and raspberry fruit, fig cake and coffee liqueur flavors on the palate. Full-bodied and rich, yet finely knit and elegant overall, with mouthwatering acidity married to the range of flavor. The silky tannins create a pleasing viscosity on the lingering finish. Drink now through 2029." 

James Suckling, Nov/2019

2009 -

"An Amarone that’s holding on very well for a 2009, as it shows not only tertiary cedar and leather, but also a wide array of dried fruit, citrus and dried flowers. Rich and decadent, this is a full-bodied, plush style that remains balanced and dialed-in thanks to polished, medium-chewy tannins. Drink from 2022."

Gambero Rosso, 2019

2008 -

"The 2008 Amarone De Buris, their new house reserve wine, is debuting 10 years after vintage. After lengthy aging it offers up deep aromas, still intact in terms of fruit, amplified by notes of finest herbes and spices. In the mouth it exhibits great extractive force. This is channeled along a dual track of precision and elegance, guided by a lively acidic and tannic backbone."

James Suckling, Nov/2018

2008 -

"Big Amarone with dried berries, cloves and chocolate. Hints of hazelnuts, too. Full body and round, soft tannins that are fully resolved now. Long and flavorful. Decadent and wonderful. Gorgeous now."

Decanter Magazine, Oct/2018

2008 -

"De Buris is a new luxury brand from the Tommasi family in Valpolicella, made from select plots of less than 1.9ha in Sant'Ambrogio on the La Grola hill, known for its limestone soil. It's purpose is 'to capture excellence and the sublime', according to Giancarlo Tommasi - and its size means they have only produced 8,000 bottles. This outstanding Amarone opens on the nose with liquorice candy, carob and leather in a lively, oxidative style. It has firm yet ripe mid-palate extraction and crisp acidity which pushes the umami length longer, demonstrating how very important bottle ageing is for achieving the complex balance of Amarone. Drinking Window 2018 - 2030."

Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate, Sept/2019

2008 -

"This is the exciting new project by the Tommasi family that was unveiled with much fanfare at the end of 2018. The wine is linked to a gorgeous historic property, the stately Villa De Buris, that has been acquired by Tommasi and will one day become a luxury hotel. For now, we can enjoy the 2008 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva De Buris (with 7,940 bottles and 300 magnums made). The grapes came from the nearby Groletta vineyard that was planted 19 years ago. The wine sees 110 days of appassimento and five years in oak. The fruit is delicate and streamlined. The best part of this wine is that it never shows the exaggerated thickness or heaviness that you often find in its peers. De Buris is graceful and elegant."

Wine Spectator, May/2019

2008 -

"Lovely aromas and flavors of baked cherry, spiced orange peel, coffee liqueur, graphite and dusty sage waft from the glass and expand on the palate of this creamy, medium- to full-bodied Amarone. Finely knit and harmonious, this offers lots of expression without additional weight, as well as a chewy finish of fruit and spicy mineral. Drink now through 2028. 50 cases imported. - AN"

Wine & Spirits Magazine, Feb/2019

2008 -

"Introduced this year, De Buris Riserva is the culmination of a project that began in 2000 when Tommasi acquired 4.5 acres in La Groletta, a vineyard at the top of La Grola hill, and purchased Villa De Buris, a 14th-century estate that will become the family’s headquarters. The 2008 De Buris aged in large Slavonian casks for seven years, developing notes of mushroom, dried leaves and savory spices that complement the flavors of dried plum and fig. It’s a lithe, elegant Amarone that would partner well with aged sirloin."

Wine Enthusiast, Mar/2019

2008 -

"Moist underbrush, grilled celery, smoke, steeped prune and tobacco aromas slowly take shape on this smooth full-bodied red. The soft concentrated palate is already accessible, offering baked plum, black-cherry extract, vanilla and the heat of evident alcohol alongside velvety tannins."