The wine of the month
Zenato, Amarone della Valpolicella, Classico, 2019
5,0 NJP of 5,0 NJP
April 2024: Zenato, Amarone della Valpolicella, Classico, 2019 (43 EUR/46 USD in Sweden) red dry blend wine, Veneto, Italy, 5,0 NJP of 5,0 NJP (100 points of 100 points) (15-04-2024 by Nenad Jelisic)
It seems that since the 2017 vintage, which got 3,0 NJP of 5,0 NJP (80 points out 100 points), Zenato has started making better and better Amarone wines. The 2018 vintage got 4,0 NJP of 5,0 NJP (90 points of 100 points) and now this wonderful 2019 vintage get 5,0 NJP of 5,0 NJP (100 points of 100 points). This is great news for all Amarone-wine lovers because almost all Amarone-wine producers have in the last twenty years started producing wines of very poor quality and it is not so surprising because the production of Amarone-wines has increased over 200% during these years. Of course there are exceptions and here we have one of them, the fabulous Zenato Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2019. It says a lot that NJ Wines has not given an Amarone-wine 5,0 NJP since 2009. The wine is sweet spicy, flavourful, fruity, concentrated, complex and tannic, a school example of what a brilliant Amarone wine should be. The aroma is characterized by violets, cocoa, tobacco of the highest quality, dried dates, raisins, vanilla, cardamom, cinnamon and white pepper. The flavour is characterized by ripe dark cherries, cocoa-rich dark chocolate, black pepper, violets, tobacco, sweet spices and raisins. The balance between the wine's tartaric acidity, fruitiness and tannins is exceptionally good. The aftertaste, which is sweet spicy and complex, is endlessly long. Everything mentioned above contributes to that Zenato Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2019 will develop for at least 10 to 15 years, that is, until at least 2034 to 2039.
A flavourful, sweet spicy, fruity and tannin-rich wine like this will go perfectly with grilled beef fillet/entrecôte with Café de Paris sauce and potato gratin or with reindeer stew with buttery mashed potatoes or with grilled pork chops with grilled red peppers, yellow onions and tomatoes and béarnaise sauce or with grilled duck breast with port wine and cherry sauce and potato stoemp (roughly mashed potatoes with vegetables and cream) or with pasta carbonara or with Boeuf Bourguignon with buttery mashed potatoes or with risotto or with hard cheeses such as Cheddar, Svecia, Västerbotten, Parmesan and Grana Padano. If you want that Zenato Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2019 will show you its greatness from the first sip, you should decant it for two hours or do it in the way described here immediately after. That is, serve it at 18 to 19°C in Bordeaux glasses, if possible, from Orrefors, Kosta Boda, Spiegelau or Riedel. Another option is to serve it at 16°C (when room or outdoor temperature is above 23°C) and then enjoy it as it begins to grow in the glass.
Zenato Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2019 consists of four different grapes: 80% of Corvina, 10% of Rondinella and 10% of both Oseleta and Croatina. The soil on which the grapes grow consists of sand and clay. The grapes are harvested and selected by hand. The special thing about Amarone-wines is that their grapes (whole bunches) go through the so-called appassimento process, the process during which the grapes are dried for about 90 to 120 days. The grapes for this wine have been dried for around 120 days. The drying does that the grapes' water content decrease, while the grapes' sugar content, concentration and richness of flavour increase. After the drying, the grapes are destemmed and pressed and their grape mass, which consists of crushed grapes and grape juice, is macerated/fermented in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature between 25 and 30°C for 25 days. After the maceration and the fermentation, the wine is aged in 3,500 to 6,500 litres Slavonian (Croatian) oak barrels for 36 months. Finally, the wine is bottled and aged for a few more weeks before it is released on the market.
