94 pts Vinous
Drinking Window 2026 - 2036
The 2018 Rubeo is a savory beast, with a burst of smoke and crushed rocks giving way to white pepper-tinged black cherries and wild herbs. It sweeps across the palate with silky textures and polished wild berry fruits, propelled by zesty acidity as salty mineral tones saturate toward the close. It finishes saline and youthfully tannic yet still quite fresh, leaving rosy inner florals and a chalky sensation that lingers on and on. The 2018 is gorgeous yet demands cellaring to come fully into balance.
- By Eric Guido on December 2023

The tasting at L’Arco included both new releases and a very rare look back into library vintages of Rubeo, an appassimento-driven blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 30% Corvina, 15% Rondinella and 15% Molinara. In last year's article, I explained Luca Fedrigo's very close ties to Quintarelli and how he has chosen to uphold those teachings to the letter. The wines possess that same magic and soulfulness that make Quintarelli an icon to this day. As such, they also require similar attention. For instance, Fedrigo clarified that the wines are best opened no less than eight hours prior to tasting, if not the night before. This visit was particularly interesting, as I recalled the first time I tasted these wines, including the 2003, 2004 and 2006 vintages, which we revisited. I still have a 2003 L'Arco Amarone in my cellar, waiting for a special occasion. The new releases show the same energy, verve and depth of fruit that I’ve come to know from these wines. However, Fedrigo decided not to bottle his 2018 Amarone in response to the year's conditions, a choice I wish more producers had made. That said, both the Rubeo and Pario from the vintage are both terrific, just more immediate. As for 2019, my interests are truly piqued after tasting the Pario, a blend of half fresh and half appassimento Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara. It’s a serious wine that will require patience.

Luca is a master craftsman. At every stage; farming, harvesting, drying, and aging, Luca’s attention to detail stands out. This wine is a testament to perfection because it is only bottled in special years. Everything has to align perfectly over 4 years of maturation for a wine to be bottled as L’Arco Amarone. Flavors are classic with dried fruits, plum, wild currant, smoked herbs, and spices. What stands out is the texture and evolution on your palate, as it expands and lingers for a complex finish.

• Grapes: 60% Corvina and Corvinone, 30% Rondinella, 10% Molinara
• Farming: Practicing organic. From vineyard in the Classico zone on gravel and moraine soils of ancient riverbed. The Cab Franc field blend (Cab Sauv & Merlot) is planted just south of the Classico zone near the Adige River on more sandy, alluvial soils. Cab Franc, SAuv, & Merlot planted in 2004. Corvina, Rondinella, Molinara are pergola trained and co-planted, average age of the vines is 50 years. Hand-harvested fruit from estate owned vineyards.
• Winemaking: Dried separately, indigenous grapes (3+months) and Bordeaux grapes (2 months) are also fermented separately with native yeast in tank, ~50% of the blend is Amarone; the balance is mostly Cab Franc, 40%. After settling in tank for 6 months, the wine is blended and spends 40 months in large traditional Slavonian oak barrels (botti: 2000-5000 L).
• Serving: Serve at 60-65° F, decant for up to an hour.