The 2020 Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso Monti Garbi is wickedly spice and intense, opening with a whiff of crushed ashen stone and smokey black cherries. Its textures are silky and pure, with a savory mix of sour wild berries and salty mineral tones. This finishes with tremendous length yet energetic, leaving black currant and mocha hints to linger.

Packaged in a heavy glass bottle, the Tenuta Sant'Antonio 2018 Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso Monti Garbi is a mid-weight expression with a classic playlist of dried cherry and plum that segue to mild spice, tar and toasted chestnut. Ripasso is the quintessential midway wine between Valpolicella and Amarone, and its all-rounder appeal means it can pair with a wide variety of foods to enjoy in any informal occasion. The blend is 70% Corvina and Corvinone, 20% Rondinella, 5% Croatina and 5% Oseleta. It sees 12 months of oak aging.

This producer is in top form, embellishing a brilliant line of whites with very good reds. Pointed aromas of dried tobacco, Morello cherries, kirsch and anise. A brilliant confluence of crunch, sap and extract, none of the component overwhelming the others, although the power of the wine is clear. Leaves the impression of freshness over tiring sweet fruit. This is a very fine, contemporary expression of Amarone that demands attention. Long, detailed and immensely classy. Drinkable now, but best from 2027.

The Tenuta Sant'Antonio 2016 Amarone della Valpolicella Campo dei Gigli (packaged in a very heavy eco-unfriendly glass bottle) is a dark and brooding wine packed tight with richly concentrated black fruit delivered in thick and lasting layers. The bouquet peels back to reveal dark plum and baked blackberry, but there is also a major focus on spice, tar, barbecue smoke and teriyaki. The wine makes a wide and large impact on the palate. It shows enormous textural richness and softly integrated tannins. You can age this blend of 70% Corvina and Corvinone, 20% Rondinella, 5% Croatina and 5% Oseleta (that sees three years in barrel) over the long haul.

The 2021 Valpolicella Ripasso Monti Garbi is dark and attractive, with a blend of dusty dried flowers, exotic spices and dried black cherries smoldering up from the glass. This displays silky textures, balancing ripe wild berry fruits against saline minerals and a bitter tinge of sour orange. It tapers off long, leaving the mouth watering for more as rosy inner florals and hints of tart raspberry slowly fade. The savory Ripasso possesses a balance seldom seen.

Notes of grilled game and tobacco balance this wine’s rich flavors of baked cherry, molten chocolate and licorice. Dark spices offset those flavors, and lively acidity cools the finish.

This wine offers a glimpse of dried cherry and plum flavors before the spectrum quickly shifts to notes of smoked bacon, fig and cardamom. The wine aged for three years in new French-oak tonneaux, developing a complex and decadent style that will appeal to the most ardent Amarone fans.