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.
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Most of the historic producers of Valpolicella are located on the western side of the denomination, but the Valpolicella district stretches east across several hills and valleys almost to Soave, and it is in this eastern zone that some new, exciting, and innovative wineries have been established in recent decades. The soils in the eastern Valpolicella have a higher component of calcium carbonate, which imparts a higher acidity and bolder cherry fruit character to the wines.
Antonio Castagnedi was a winegrower in the Illasi Valley of eastern Valpolicella in the late 20th century who left 50 acres of vineyards to his four sons. The brothers Armando, Tiziano, Paolo, and Massimo worked as consultants for other wine estates in Italy and continued to grow grapes on their inherited land in Colognola ai Colli, but had bigger dreams. In 1989, they took the next step, buying another 75 acres of top-quality vineyard land on the high terrain of Monti Garbi (also in eastern Valpolicella) and making the leap into wine production as a family. The first vintage of Tenuta Sant’Antonio came in 1995.
Tenuta Sant’Antonio Valpolicellas are made from 100% estate-grown fruit from the Illasi Valley and Monti Garbi. With their considerable combined winegrowing experience, the Castagnedi brothers devote meticulous attention to their high-density, low-yield vineyards to provide grapes of such exceptional quality that they require minimal intervention during winemaking. At harvest time, the grapes for Amarone are harvested on a first pass through the vineyards, and those for the regular Valpolicella are harvested on the second pass. In this way, the basic Valpolicella gets a portion of the best grapes and is an exceptional value for the price. Also, because the Amarone is harvested earlier, the grapes’ sugar level is lower, so the alcohol level of the Amarone is not excessive. This strategy also dictates that Tenuta Sant’Antonio makes Amarone only in years when the overall harvest quality is high enough to support making the full Valpolicella lineup.
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LOCATIONWINERY: Lavagno (Verona province), Veneto VINEYARD: Eastern Valpolicella and Soave areas, Veneto VIEW IN GOOGLE MAPS REGION DETAILS |
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94
OCTOBER 2021
Tenuta Sant’Antonio "Campo dei Gigli" Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG 2010
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. OCTOBER 2023
Tenuta Sant’Antonio "Campo dei Gigli" Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG 2018
92
FEBRUARY 2024
Tenuta Sant'Antonio “Monti Garbi” Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore DOC 2021
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. 92+
MARCH 2023
Tenuta Sant'Antonio “Monti Garbi” Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore DOC 2020
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. 93
JANUARY 2021
Tenuta Sant’Antonio "Campo dei Gigli" Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG 2015
“Campo dei Gigli is the name of the vineyard, and the grapes come from vines that are around 50 years old, the Castagnedi family’s oldest vines. It is a limited production wine made only in the bast vintages. It is fermented in open barrels with indigenous yeasts for 25 to 30 days, then the barrels are closed, skins included for 10 to 18 days. Skins are removed, and the wine is transferred to new 500 liter French oak barrels. This wine has a residual sugar of 8 grams per liter (.08 percent), so the wine is aged in Allier oak to contrast with residual sugar, giving the wine more vanilla. Campo dei Gigli ages three years in new casks. Layered flavors of dried cherries, plums, spice and leather combine with chalky tannins and a slight, pleasantly bitter note in the finish.” 93
MARCH 2023
Tenuta Sant’Antonio “Antonio Castagnedi” Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG 2018
The 2018 Amarone della Valpolicella Antonio Castagnedi opens with a dusty mix of black currants and lavender offset by clove and mocha hints. This shows the lift and finesse of the vintage while imparting undeniable elegance as depths of ripe red fruits are offset by a bitter tinge of dark chocolate. The 2018 finishes structured with fine-grained tannins, licorice and inner violet florals. 93
JANUARY 2023
Tenuta Sant’Antonio "Campo dei Gigli" Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG 2017
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. 91
JANUARY 2021
Tenuta Sant’Antonio “Antonio Castagnedi” Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG 2016
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. |