Wine Details

Tenuta Santa Maria Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva DOCG

In Italian, the name Amarone literally means "Great Bitter," and was actually coined in 1936 within the very cellars of the Villa Mosconi in reference to a wine the Bertani family had been producing under the name "Recioto Secco," (Dry Recioto) to distinguish from the much sweeter Veronese Recioto also produced using the "apassimento" technique. This Amarone is the most intense of the Tenuta Santa Maria wines, with its characteristic aromas and complexity. The wine is ruby red in color with garnet reflections, and the impact of cherry preserves, spices, and dried rose petals lend complexity and elegance to the nose. Warm and subtle on the palate, it presents an important structure and high alcohol content, balanced by velvety tannins and bright acidity and freshness.

Region:

Producer:

Tenuta Santa Maria

Classification:

Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva DOCG

Variety:

75% Corvina, 10% Rondinella, 15% Corvinone

Number of bottles produced:

20,000 bottles

Production area:

Arbizzano di Negrar (Verona)

Altitude:

150-200 meters (492-656 feet) a.s.l.

Age of vines:

29 years

Yield:

4,000 kg/ha

Training:

Guyot

Vinification:

The finest hand-selected grapes dry for 4-5 months on bamboo and wooden mats in the estate's historic chamber (with natural air circulation) until they reach desired concentration of sugars (when they've lost 40-50% of original weight). The dried fruit is pressed and undergoes temperature-controlled fermentation with daily punch downs

Refining:

Long period in large oak barrels of malolactic fermentation and an additional 4+ years of aging; after bottling at least 6 months refining before release

Alcohol content:

15%

pH level:

3.52

Acidity:

6.04 g/L

Soil:

Primarily clay with deeper calcareous layers

Time of harvest:

Mid-September

Harvest:

Manual

Recent press reviews

94

Tenuta Santa Maria Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva DOCG 2018

Falstaff Magazine (94)- "Medium bright ruby red in colour with subtle brightening on the rim. Intense aromas of ripe cherry, raspberry, plum, dried fig and candied orange on the nose, with a cinnamon and clove finish. Very fruit driven on the palate, velvety, juicy and balanced, with grippy tannins and a fruity finish. "

93

Tenuta Santa Maria Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva DOCG 2017

Decanter (93)- "With headquarters at Arbizzano near the bottom of the Negrar valley, the Bertani family produce a wide range of Veronese reds from the walled vineyards surrounding the magnificent, neoclassical, 18th century Villa Mosconi. Their Amarone is made as a Riserva, with five years of oak ageing. The wine shows a ripe and chocolatey nose of surprising freshness, and the palate lives up to this initial promise: balanced and firm with juicy fruit flavours. Plenty of life left ahead of it."

93

Tenuta Santa Maria Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva DOCG 2017

Vinous Media (93)- "The 2017 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva is youthfully understated, wafting up with a nuanced blend of dried black cherries, incense and spice. This flows across the palate with silky textures and ripe red and blue fruits as zesty acidity adds energy, and masses of bitter dark chocolate emerge toward the close. Remarkably fresh all the way through, this finishes long, staining and pleasantly tense, with a coating of fine tannins."