Zenato Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva Sergio Zenato 2015 (750ML)

98 JS / 95 VM / 95 FS / 94 WS / 94 DE / 16.5 JR
#29 James Suckling Top 100 Italian Wines of 2020

An Amarone for the future with terrific richness and tannin power, offering dried fruit, figs, blackberries, bark, mushrooms and hints of wood. Full-bodied and very structured with a powerful finish. It needs a lot of time to come around. Try it after 2024. - James Suckling

The 2015 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva Sergio Zenato is a massive and towering expression that straddles both savory and sweet with a heady display of plum sauce and crushed raspberries complemented by mentholated herbs, licorice and balsamic spice. There are depths of fresh red and black fruits that gain a polished feel as they coast across velvety textures, while vibrant acidity adds verve, further contrasted by a bitter twang of baker’s chocolate. There’s so much going on here that you hardly notice the 2015’s formidable structure up until the very end, where hints of cumin and ginger linger under an air of violet florals. I believe this opulent beauty deserves an official “Wow.” Drink the 2015 now for its primal intensity and extroverted fruit, or put it away for upwards of a decade. It’s a gorgeous Amarone Riserva. - Eric Guido, Vinous Media

Powerful, bright ruby. Opens in the nose with notes of savoury honey and pine needles, then much dark cherry, seems very fresh. On the palate grippy, gripping tannin, coated by sweet fruit, firm drive, still needs storage.-Falstaff

This red is full-bodied yet bright and graceful, offering a rich range of baked black cherry, fragrant herb, dried fig and smoky mineral flavors, with lively acidity and sleek tannins providing a well-defined frame. Well-spiced and citrusy on the chewy finish. Corvina, Rondinella, Oseleta and Croatina. Drink now through 2035. —Alison Napjus, Wine Spectator

Hand-graded grapes (80% Corvina, 10% Rondinella, 10% Oseleta and Croatina) were left to dry for around four months, then fermented 15-20 days on the skins, the wine maturing for at least four years in large oak vessels before another year of ageing in bottle. Dense ruby in colour, this shows an impressively defined sense of terroir with its bright red-cherry fruit and black pepper – typical of Sant’Ambrogio Valpolicella – then the depth of dark chocolate, dried prunes and figs. Creaminess prevails on the off-dry (6g/L) palate, with elegant velvety tannins, refreshing high acidity and the final grip possibly from the Oseleta. A top example from the Classico area, this is a great example to pair with boiled meats and Italian mustard. - Aldo Fiordelli, Decanter

Criminally heavy bottle. And a wax capsule that I had to take a hatchet to in order to open the bottle. Nearly took my eye out. Much more evolved-tasting than the Tedeschi 2015 Classico Riserva Amarone. More tannic. Cigar spice, clove and cedar. Leathery, tea-leaf-dry tannins, tasting of rooibos and pepper and ground cumin and fenugreek. Dried cranberries, prunes, dusty raisins. Empty drawers in an old wooden chest that still have the faint scent of the someone's things that filled them. The faint memory of pot pourri, lavender, ink pens and notebooks. Shorter than I would have expected it to be. - Jancis Robinson