Tenuta Sant'Antonio Amarone Selezione Antonio Castagnedi 2015
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Tasting
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Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling -
Wine &
Spirits -
Jeb
Dunnuck
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Pair this wine with savory first courses, seasoned with truffle, hare and game, red meats that are grilled, roasted or boiled, and mature cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
Deep ruby color; rich nose; smooth and juicy, a very drinkable Amarone; fruity and complex but younger, lower in alcohol; charming and balanced.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This is the estate's entry-level Amarone that boasts a sweet, plush and accessible drinking profile. The 2015 Amarone della Valpolicella Selezione Antonio Castagnedi is a beautiful expression from a terrific vintage. The warmth and sunshine of the summer season is expressed beautifully in this blend of Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, Croatina and Oseleta with three months of appassimento. Black fruit and pressed cherry cede to barbecue smoke and baking spice. This is a great wine to recommend at this price point. Some 150,000 bottles were made.
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James Suckling
This is a balanced, restrained Amarone, showing dried cloves, bitter chocolate, dark plums and black raspberries. Full-bodied with lots of plush fruit, but a solid backbone of soft, juicy tannins to match. Drink from 2023.
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Wine & Spirits
After deciding not to make any Amarone in the difficult 2014 vintage, the Castagnedi brothers must have been pleased with the quality in Selezione, their flagship 2015. The fruit comes from mature vines, and they pick it slightly early to emphasize freshness and to keep the alcohol level around 15 percent. Even so, it’s a densely concentrated wine, loaded with notes of clove and vanilla picked up during two years in new French oak tonneaux. The spice notes give way to more savory tones as the wine opens up, the flavors picking up energy as they expand across the palate. For all of its bold spiciness, it finishes dry and balanced. Best Buy
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Jeb Dunnuck
Aged 2 years in 500-liter French oak, the 2015 Amarone Della Valpolicella Antonio Castagnedi reveals a deeper ruby/plum hue as well as ripe, spicy notes of mulled red and black fruits, baking chocolate, dried herbs, tobacco, and cigar. Rich, medium to full-bodied, and beautifully textured on the palate, it's a nicely balanced Amarone that can shine on the dinner table or also be terrific at the end of a meal.
Other Vintages
2010-
Robert
Parker
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Wine
Enthusiast
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Robert
Parker
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 years. 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. They make three Amarone wines, Selezione Castignedi, Campo dei Gigli and Lilium Est and a Ripasso wine named for the estate, Monti Garbi and an everyday Valpolicella called “Nanfre”.