Dusty rose, cedary spice, nuances of split pine and dried black cherries form an inviting bouquet as the 2022 Valpolicella Ripasso Monti Garbi entices from the glass. It presents a pretty inner sweetness contrasted by crisp red berry fruits and mineral tones, with hints of clove adding contrast toward the close. The finish is pleasantly chewy and long, leaving a twang of sour citrus that enlivens the senses.

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.

The 2023 Valpolicella Nanfè blossoms in the glass with a pretty blend of dusty rose and violet, giving way to crushed blackberries. It is silken in feel, with ripe red and blue fruits offset by a tinge of peppery herbs. This finishes crisp and clean as a subtle salty sensation calls the taster back to the glass for more.

A dusting of clove and cinnamon gives way to dried roses and balsamic black cherries as the 2019 Amarone della Valpolicella Campo dei Gigli smolders up from the glass. Elegant in style, it presents silken textures and vividly ripe red and black fruits that slowly saturate, all complicated by a mass of grippy tannins toward the close. More savory than sweet, the 2019 leaves the palate wrapped in youthful tension through the long and structured finale as hints of dark chocolate linger. Harmonious in every way, it is geared up for cellaring.

Peppery rose and tangerine-tinged tart cherries create an inviting bouquet as the 2024 Valpolicella Nanfè opens in the glass. It's soft-textured yet lifted and finessed, with zesty wild berry fruit and a twang of sour citrus. It tapers off with hints of licorice and spice, leaving the palate completely refreshed.

Tenuta Sant’Antonio’s tribute to patriarch Antonio Castagnedi takes on greater nuance in 2020, with a touch more of the green peppercorn note—likely from the 70% Corvinone in the blend—that characterises the style. From moderate-altitude sites in the Illasi and Mezzane valleys, it opens with dried strawberry, layered with cinnamon, dried citrus, honeysuckle florals and exotic guava, the green peppercorn lift seeming to come from the fruit rather than the new oak tonneaux. The palate is sheer and open, its acidity illuminating lilac florals, pink and green peppercorn and slightly sweet strawberry. Tight-grained, well-proportioned tannins would benefit from another year to loosen. On the finish there is a faint candied edge, though no alcoholic heat (15% abv), but the wine remains poised and distinctive.

Campo dei Gigli is a single site in Mezzane di Sotto, where vines are 45 years old and soils are limestone-rich and well structured, amplifying concentration. The nose is intensely fragrant with lilac and supercharged blueberry fruit, just kept from exorbitance by grounding tones of earth and leather. On the palate it is fluid, lucid and lovely, the blueberry fruit diaphanous and lilting as it wends its way through the svelte oblong of the mid palate, firmly corseted by taut ribs of tannin. Blueberry and lilacs linger on indefinitely, accompanied by a wash of coffee from tonneau maturation, all vibrating with acidity. There is high-wire tension here, bound together by almost surreal aromatics.