Zenato Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico DOCG 2017 Review

This is a fantastic well, balanced, and delicious Amarone wine. It comes from one of the world’s most famous wine regions for red wine production: Valpolicella, Italy.

Zenato Amarone della valpolicella Classico 2017

Amarone is a style of wine made from partially dried grapes. Appasimento is a word that means raisonated grapes. Red grapes are dried on straw mats for several weeks, which concentrates the flavours, colour and aromas of the final wine. The drying process gives the grapes a higher concentration of sugar, producing a higher alcohol wine as a result. The key is to balance the strong flavours with the high alcohol into a wine that is both pleasant and delicious to drink.

Zenato does a wonderful job at balancing the fruit, acid tannic and alcohol into a wine that showcases its high quality. Often Amarone wines tend to taste “hot” or too alcoholic, but this wine at 16.5% does not taste like it at all.

Zenato Amarone 2017 background information

Owned by the Zenato family

Vineyard: 95 hectares by Lake Garda

Region: San Benedetto di Lugano in Valpolicella Italy

The grapes are dried for 4 months, and the wine is aged for 3 years in Slavonian oak

U.S. Pricing: $49.99

Canadian Pricing: $56.95

Zenato Amarone 2017 Tasting Notes

Appearance: Dark Ruby Red

Nose: Intense marasca cherry flavor, with an alluring floral note, prunes, and spice

Palate: It is a dry wine with notes of cherries and spice

Balance: Excellent balance between the fruit, acidity, tannin and alcohol

Length: a long lingering finish

Intensity: Pronounced with ripe and smooth tannic structure

Complexity: High with lots of flavour concentration

Zenato Amarone 2017 Quality Assessment

This is an outstanding wine. The concentration of fruit, the long pleasant finish as well as the excellent balance are all markers of quality. This Italian Amarone is unmistakably age-worthy and has the potential to age in bottle for years to come.

Zenato Amarone della valpolicella 2017 Food Pairing

This bottle can be enjoyed alone but will go well with protein such as roasted or grilled meat as well as aged cheeses.

Zenato Amarone della valpolicella 2017 Rating

I give it 5 out of 5 stars