Description

Tenuta Sant’Antonio Amarone della Valpolicella Selezione Antonio Castagned 2020

93 pts – Vinous

The 2020 Amarone della Valpolicella Antonio Castagnedi is darkly alluring, as crushed black cherries blend with shavings of Baker’s chocolate and sage. It is silken in feel, with a cascade of mineral-infused red berry fruits saturating the palate, all elevated by brisk acidity. The finish tapers off classically dry and gently tannic, leaving a pleasantly bitter tinge of cocoa and citrus that lingers. Don’t be afraid of bringing this savory and sultry Amarone to the dinner table. Nicely done.

91 pts – James Suckling

A producer that is riding high, crafting a line of intriguing wines across colors. This is full-weighted and a bit drying, et not without verve, lift and detail, despite the challenging nature of the very warm year. Reveling in a shroud of dark fruit, camphor, licorice root and bergamot, this is a powerful, smoky Amarone. The tannins are a bit blunt, but not necessarily because of the oak. Rather from a composite of heat and thick grape skins. Age may serve this well, but I’d drink this across the mid-term. Drink or hold.

91 pts – Wine Spectator

Perfumed with dried violet, sage and sandalwood accents, this balanced red frames flavors of black ripe cherry, red licorice and fresh earth with plum skin acidity and fine, crisp tannins. Drink now through 2030. 12,500 cases made, 1,850 cases imported.

Overview

The ‘Selezone Antonio Castagnedi’ is made up of 70% Corvina, 20% Rondinella, 5% Croatina, 5% Oseleta. Amarone della Valpolicella is the most prestigious red wine of Veneto, and the four brothers who started Tenuta Sant’Antonio dedicate their primary Amarone to their father, Antonio Castagnedi. The vineyards are located in Municipality of Mezzane di Sotto – Monti Garbi District (Verona). Vines 20-25 years old and grow on Sandy, silty with large amounts of white skeletal limestone. The best grapes are selected for this wine and are brought to the winery’s drying room to undergo the appassimento process. After at least 3 months of drying, the grapes have shriveled and lost much of their water, while retaining their sugar, flavor, and other components. Once fermented and aged in new barrels, the Amarone is a powerful wine, yet fruity, fresh, and clean.

Winemaker Notes