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.

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

Unfathomable depth and complexity here, with roasted dark licorice, blackberries, tar, porcini, mussels and black chocolate. A light hint of balsamic adds a savory edge, too. The seamless tannins build up gradually on the full-bodied palate. Great balance of ripeness, concentration and freshness, with a lasting finish. Drinkable now, but much better after 2025.—James Suckling

This remarkable Amarone won the very highest acclaim from its original judging panel and then sailed through every subsequent judging stage, to the extent that its appearance in our Best In Show collection was never seriously in doubt. It’s already over five years old, but is still very dark in the glass -- and it's a wine of remarkable aromatic complexity, too. Amarone-lovers will know just how many allusions these wines are capable of evoking, and it’s not hard to make out mushrooms, forest underbrush, truffle, Havana leaf and even woodland violets as well as the more usual confit cherries and plums in this wine’s aromatic profile. In the mouth, the wine is remarkably concentrated yet elegant, carrying that bundle of allusions effortlessly and seamlessly through the palate. Fine-beaded tannins lend support, and the concentration of fruit is such that any overt acidity is almost an afterthought.--Decanter

Also available:

2015 Zenato Amarone della Valpolicella Classico

Riserva Sergio Zenato

$99.89 (750ML) In Stock- Buy Now

98 JS / 95 VM / 94 WS / 94 DE

#29 James Suckling Top 100 Italian Wines of 2020