Lots of silky, sweet black-fruit and lead-pencil minerals here. Full-bodied with still lightly firm, fruit-soaked tannins and a long, controlled finish that introduces some orange-peel freshness. Delicious now, but will go on.

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.

Very potent aromas of blackcurrants and toasted oak with hints of eucalyptus and black-cherry liqueur, following through to a full palate with firm tannins that drive the fruit on through the long finish. There’s a kind of raw, almost rough-and-ready character to this that’s a bit hard work now. Will even out with bottle age. One for the cellar. Try from 2024.

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 rich Amarone is all that it is supposed to be and more. The nose is loaded with blackberry and cassis with licorice and savory herbs layered atop the intense fruit aromas. The palate shows off the beauty of the vineyard with deep dark plum notes wrapped around sweet chocolate and baking spices with fine tannins and a long finish.

Packaged in a heavy glass bottle, the Tenuta Sant'Antonio 2016 Amarone della Valpolicella Antonio Castagnedi is a beautifully full and generous wine. If offers a full load of fruit weight and manages to do so without losing freshness or crispness. The bouquet delivers elements of dark cherry, blackcurrant and blackberry preserves, and those dark tones transition to sweet tones of spice, licorice and tar. This is a full-bodied and thoroughly contemporary expression that translates to the palate with lively energy and lots of Amarone power. Fruit comes from a hillside vineyard with sandy limestone soils and white calcareous rocks at a breezy 300 meters in elevation. The traditional blend used by this estate is 70% Corvina and Corvinone, 20% Rondinella, 5% Croatina and 5% Oseleta. The wine ages in oak for two long years.

Remarkably pretty, yet dark and intense, the 2018 Amarone della Valpolicella Campo dei Gigli bursts from the glass with dusty notes of dried roses, balsamic spice, tobacco, dark chocolate and dried black cherries. Seamless and elegant in style, this envelops the palate with ripe red and blue fruits, taking on a bitter tinge of mocha and espresso toward the close. It finishes long and staining, with a coating of fine-grained tannins that adds a classically dry impression while minty herbal tones maintain freshness. This transcends the 2018 vintage, yet patience will be required.

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.