Tenuta Sant’Antonio Amarone della Valpolicella Antonio Castagnedi

The most famous wine from the Valpolicella region is without a doubt the Amarone. Only the best corvina, rondinella and molinara grapes are considered for this prestigious Venetian. The Selezione from Tenuta Sant'Antonio is a blend of wine from chalky soils with 8,000 vines per hectare with an average age of 20 years mixed with wine from clay soils with an average of 25 years old vines planted at a density of 4,000 per hectare. Both vineyards are cultivated in an environmentally friendly way and the yield is deliberately kept low by short pruning and green harvesting. The first plots produce a highly concentrated and spicy wine, the second provides the Amarone with round tannins and ripe fruit. The harvest is brought in at different stages over a period of 20 days: 10 days before the end of September to the first 10 in October. After picking, the bunches are carefully laid out to dry for 3 months on mats (apassimento) in well-ventilated sheds on the estate. At the end of December, the grapes are pressed and the alcoholic fermentation begins, which can last up to 25 days. The wine then matures for 24 months in 500-litre oak barrels, after which it matures in the bottle for six months. The opaque, ruby-red Amarone has an overwhelming perfume of ripe fruit, liquorice, fresh green herbs and black pepper. The tannins are sultry and sweet, but the wine is nevertheless harmonious with pleasant acids. It is precisely this freshness that makes it delicious with meals: dishes with truffles, game, poultry, red meat and mature cheeses. Recommended serving temperature is 16-17°C.

CLIMATE & TERROIR: The summers are warm, the winters relatively mild.
The soils consist of a thin layer of limestone, pebbles, clay and sand.
VINIFICATION: The grape bunches are dried for three months
(appassimento). They are then pressed and fermented for 25 days. The wine then matures for 24 months in
500-litre oak barrels, followed by a bottle maturation of
half a year.
GRAPES: corvina (35%), corvinone (35%), rondinella (20%), croatina
(5%), oseleta (5%)
ALCOHOL PERCENTAGE: 15.00%
NOISE & TASTE: Deep, dark red wine with intense aromas of
ripe red and dark fruit, laurel, fresh green herbs and spices
such as black pepper. The taste is full with silky tannins.
SERVING SUGGESTION: Delicious with rich meat dishes with
for example truffle or a port sauce. Also perfect with game, spicy
hard cheeses and dark chocolate.