End of the Vintage!
2016 Amarone for your cellar
The 98-point "Sergio Zenato" Riserva
A wine of “Unfathomable depth and complexity”
2016 Zenato Amarone della Valpolicella Classico
Riserva Sergio Zenato
$114.89 (750ML) In Stock - Buy Now
98 JS / 97 DE Best In Show Decanter World Wine Awards 2022
Something we don’t like to admit is that in wine, all good things must come to an end. Vintages are finite, so you have to make sure you grab them before they are gone. And though there will be new vintages to come, the 2016 vintage of the Zenato Amarone della Classico Riserva “Sergio Zenato” is coming to an end, so we grabbed what few extra bottles we could.
Nadia and Alberto Zenato, Sergio’s children, now run the winery down on the southern shore of Lake Garda. The winery is in the heart of the Lugana appellation (which is their top white) and they have vineyards in the hills of the Valpolicella.
I was lucky enough to spend time there a few years ago where we were challenged to compete with other teams to assemble an Amarone blend from 10 different barrel samples. Somehow my team won the contest, judged by Alberto. It was the hardest assemblage I’d ever been involved in. Working with samples of Corvina, Rondinella, Oseleta, and Croatina, that had been dried for 4 months then aged for 36 months in oak, some blended, others single varietal was a daunting challenge. Plus, to do it for the winemaker? Thankfully we finished and had a huge selection of local cheese and cured meats with some sparkling Lugana, then dinner of Bistecca alla Fiorentina with their amazing reds.
The Sergio Zenato bottling is only produced in the best vintages, and gets an extra year in barrel before being bottled. It is a wine that honors the memory of Nadia and Alberto’s father Sergio for the work he did to create the Zenato winery with their mother Carla. It is a profound “Wine of Contemplation”, as the locals call Amarone. I hope you get a few bottles for your cellar before they are all gone.
