Balsamic Vinegar of Modena Traditional 12 year old DOP certified. Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale Affinato from Villa Ronzan The Balsamic Guy.

This balsamic vinegar is incredible, yes it certainly has more depth and complexity than other cheaper "fake" vinegar that are out there, but it's not really worth it in my opinion. I say this while affirming that fact that it is definitely better, but the increase in taste and quality isn't commensurate with the massive increase in price. I mean if we are being honest here, you're paying over $1 per ML of liquid and essentially it's kind of hard to justify that.What I mean is that if you buy a good "fake" balsamic for like $20 or $30 for 200ML it reaches 80 percent of the experience and taste of this vinegar, so I personally will not being coming back, despite the fact that I loved the product. That being said, I respect the quality and the process that's involved in making this delicious stuff and I think it might be nice for a rare treat.

I would honestly rate it a 4/5, however I am compensating it for the people downgrading the product because they know nothing of fine foods.The bottle I received had excellent flavor, and I would say that if you are new to balsamic vinegar, the difference in flavor from the 10-20$ range to this is huge, but the difference between the 40-60$ range is minimal. If you are not a person who can taste notes in wine, it isn't worth the extra step past mid range.That being said, for it's age and quality I expected a slightly thicker balsamic (around 10-15% thicker, no big deal), but that dent in quality is why I would place it more towards a 4 star range than 5, as it it more of a fair deal at the 80-90$ range, but as someone in the food industry, I can vouch that amazon is quite brutal on pricing to culinarians, which may be why it's 100 here and more fair to put it at the 5 star range.This balsamic leans slightly more toward tart than sweet and pairs well with light savory dishes such as a caprese salad or fish.

This was my best balsamic and first true “Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena DOP” (“Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena DOP”), 12 years old. After this experience I have to try the “gold” version (= min. 25 years) from the same importer - The Balsamic Guy/Villa Ronzan.Now I understand there are 3 classes of balsamic vinegar of Modena:1) True thing: “Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena DOP” (“Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena DOP”)2) Commercial imitation: “Balsamic Vinegar of Modena IGP” (“Aceto Balsamico di Modena IGP”.)3) Lower quality commercial imitation: Dressing with balsamic vinegar of Modena (“Condimento a base di “Aceto Balsamico di Modena IGP”).My family tried all 3 categories and can confirm that 1) is better than 2), which is better than 3). We like them all, but can clearly taste the difference. I also agree with “Amazon’s Choice” that this balsamic is a good value for quality, altho more expensive than any product in the category 2) or 3).

Ordering this, I feel like I was a winner two different ways.I order an awful lot of stuff from Amazon.com. Thinking back, I cannot remember a single instance where there was a problem.When this wonderful product arrived, saying that I was excited about it was a bit of an understatement. I never buy something as elegant as 12 year old Balsamic Vinegar.Once it arrived, I opened the package and the box it came in (very well packed), I found the container missing! The small spout was there but this treasure was not. I called Amazon to let them know about this. I was sure there would be problems. Thinking from their perspective, they could have some loser on the phone trying to scam a bottle. I took pictures and was ready to argue. NOTHING! The people at Amazon said that there are rare occasions this happens, that they understood and they would send another out at no additional charge! I couldn't believe it! ZERO hassle. Well, the product came on a Sunday. I opened it and found the bottle was there along with the small spout and the owner's manual. I tasted it and this stuff is AMAZING! I've got a specific salad dressing recipe that I am planning on making my wife for mother's day. Now it will happen and it's going to be awesome. Thank you Amazon for fantastic customer service and Modena for a great product. I'm really looking forward to making the dressing.