Zenato, Amarone della Valpolicella, Classico

Looks brick brown with a ruby robe. Initially, the nose is just a wall of alcohol and the specific airy space above it, which the Chinese call “full of nothing” and the westerners associate with vapor, cold wagyu bones or wet stone minerality (but no stones here). Something like mountain air. Within minutes, cherry and dark chocolate start to appear. The pallet is initially very simple, consisting of dried raisins. A lot of dryness. One hour later, an interplay of …

2006 vintage

Off bottle Bad science experiment

2006 vintage

We opened several nice bottles with friends for dinner that centered around a properly aged prime rib eye with sides. No official TN but this was smooth, well balanced and at a great drinking point although i do not see it fading anytime soon (3-5 years no issue probably a decade). Every component of the wine was well integrated and it was just a pleasure to drink. Still lots of dark red and black fruit with some nice secondary flavors, …

2006 vintage

Deep ruby color with minimal separation. This had an explosive fragrance of plums, blackberries, cedar, and earth. Initially it was a little musty but this quickly faded and revealed a rich, complex wine with a long finish. This was a true pleasure to consume and still tastes young despite its 27 years of aging. I wish that I had more of these!

1998 vintage

Drank my last bottle from my cellar. Unfortunately, I haven't kept notes when I purchased this wine, but it's been in my cellar for at least a decade. I was worried that the bottle is over the hill, but no. It still delivered lots of fruit and plum. Lucky me. This has been the best Zenato vintage so far.

2006 vintage

Still, a solid wine with a great intense expression. Lovely! Consistent with previous notes.

2005 vintage

Nice valpolicella, drink now, pair it with food.

2006 vintage

Drinking well. Good fruit, well balanced.

2006 vintage

This has developed very, very well. Still has a few more years for sure…but I only have one more bottle in the cellar 😢

2006 vintage

This wine continues to drink well with notes similar to my last tasting in 2021: Expressive, concentrated dark fruit with hints of spice and graphite. Velvety mouthfeel with long satisfying finish. Tannins are soft and well integrated.

2006 vintage

Candied dark cherry fruit but balance nicely with a huge acidity. The fruit is still "dried" but the wine is very expressive and drinks very nicely right now! Loved it!

2005 vintage

Red fruit and some black pepper on the finish. Very easy to drink wine. Wish I purchased more.

2006 vintage

almost a year since we last had this. still performing nicely. paired perfectly with beef tenderloin, roasted potatoes and carrots. sweet fruity nose. smooth and full, excellent depth and concentration, raisin, plum, chocolate, clove. everyone loved this.

2006 vintage

Decant one hour, then drinking for 2, Full rich body, wonderful nose, fruit, bouquet and finish, Superb!

2006 vintage

One of the best wines I’ve opened all year.

2006 vintage

big and ripe but not overly candied or extreme...really very nice

2006 vintage

Red cherries and shoe leather, tobacco and prunes. Pires great with roasted chestnuts.

2006 vintage

Perhaps a little over the hill but still delightful. Went well with marinated sirloin roast/steak

2006 vintage

Very strong. Full body. Needs to mellow down. 3-5 more years

2005 vintage

Restrained elegant nose, mostly secondary aromatics but hints of fruit. Lovely mouthfeel, absolutely no rough edges. A lingering, warm finish.

2006 vintage

always a treat these mature amarones (when they've got the stuffing to hold past 10 years). and this one does. similar profile to my last tasting... the mouth feel is what impresses here. luxuriously opulent. the port-like nose and plummy, chocolate and christmas-cake notes on the palate may not appeal to everyone but if you're in the mood, this delivers.

2006 vintage

Decanted one hour. Heady nose come through in slightly overdone style. Cherry liquor, licorice, olives, tobacco and herbs come through. The wine is big, packed and flavorful with lots of ripe, at times a little overdone fruit but overall it hangs together reasonably. I think this can continue to age and perhaps settle down a little over time.

2006 vintage

Ens oF lite. Matberedare a year too late but still good

2006 vintage

Not much of a nose, but in the mouth, silky black cherry and subdued red cherry fruit are complimented by light earth and tar notes. Slightly hot or alcoholic on the finish, otherwise this Amarone is mature and ready to drink. It probably was better a couple years ago. Drink now -2024.

2006 vintage

This is my first bottle of this Amarone. Very concentrated with dense core of dark cherry, raspberry, glycerin with great balance and mouthfeel. Long satisfying finish. Paired very well with home made octopus pizza.

2006 vintage

Xmas gift for Frank Pompilio for 2020.

2006 vintage

I gave this bottle to Gino Jr. Salvadori Christmas 2020. He did the electrical work during the renovation.

2006 vintage

Too late. It’s over.

2004 vintage

the zenato classico is an amarone stalwart, ever consistent and dependable. winter's here and this weighty fruit forward 16+% classic hits the spot. it's got the tell tale amarone nose, smelling of jammy fruits, cherry, dates, chocolate and clove. it's full-bodied, syrupy and sweet but without being cloying or over-bearing. plenty of concentration and depth, it hovers beautifully on the finish. it's holding nicely but there's several years of life left in this yet. highly recommended.

2006 vintage

Smooth, delicious and full bodied, yet on finish had trace of bitterness. Pretty good wine.

2005 vintage

ok, amarone, lidt for lidt sure nu, og en del rosin - drikkes nu.

2004 vintage

From a 375. Better when first opened, then kind of faded with time open. Maybe past its prime from this small format? Not as big and bold as a typical amarone. And tons of sediment.

2005 vintage

From a split. Hot spicy nose, on the palate prunes, red fruit, sweet offset by acid and tannins. Again variation among these half bottles, this one turned out very well indeed. My last.

2004 vintage

Another below expectations, consistent with my first bottle notes on 2/25. Definitely some bottle variation, hoping my sole remaining bottle is one of the good ones.

2004 vintage

Wow, talk about bottle variation. PNP with minimal aeration. Once again in half bottle format, this is like a completely different wine than the split I sampled two days ago. The nose is hot, with some spice and perhaps cherry cordial. The palate is intense extracted fruit, port-like prunes, raisins, but cherries and plums also. Followed up by firm tannins and acid. The sweetness is really well balanced by the acid.

2004 vintage

From a half bottle, decanted for an hour. This was a light to medium bodied Amarone, but lacking the distinctive prune and raisin notes. Well made but not special.

2004 vintage

Full colour. Does not betray its age. Smoky, complex nose - classic Amarone notes of black cherries, tar, and white flower blossom. Lovely on the palate - fully resolved supple tannins. Good volume of stewed black fruits and figs. Delicious texture. Long. Voluminous and full on the finish but with no heat from the alcohol (16%!). This is a very well balanced wine overall. Very good. Pity this was the only one I had.

2004 vintage

Raisony and plummy with full body, long finish, and silky tannins. Very high alcohol but you would never know it.

2004 vintage

Served after a brief decant, this has really evolved nicely, with a complex sweet and savory flavor profile. Everybody that tried it really liked it. It is definitely in its peak drinking window but has many years of life left.

2005 vintage

Big. Delicious

2005 vintage

Rich red and dark fruit, plum, fig and raspberry, hints of Forrest floor and leather. Medium bodied, mature tannins and a little sweet. Great for after dinner drinking with a Brie and some fig marmalade

2004 vintage

Delicioso

2004 vintage

Nice and dense fruit. Still plenty of dried fruit flavors and quite sweet but still nicely balanced. Not as explosive as it was when young but still a great wine worth aging.

2005 vintage

This is a bottle that I bought a long long time ago in a galaxy far far away at a time when I liked the style of Amarone. I don't any longer. For some reason I keep hoping that just "this one" will perform. Again, it didn't. The wine is bombastic. Dark fruit. Not a lot of acidity. Prominent alcohol at 16,5%. Almost feels like a fortified wine. It probably has a lot of quality and I'm sure that it …

2005 vintage

Very round and full with fruit. May be lacked some structure.

2005 vintage

Lots of fruit left but has dropped the prune-style fruit a lot. A fresh and fairly balanced wine that is lovely to drink right now.

1998 vintage

very full and sweet bordering on dessert wine. Complete balanced finish. Paired extremely well with aged cheddar

2004 vintage

Nice but BIG slightly sweet decent finish a hint of spritz needed to breath. I tend not to drink these anymore due to the over extracted almost New World flavor profiles but I understand why many people adore these Old World monsters...

2005 vintage

Sweet cherry, truffle, forest floor, big chunky body, medium finish, some heat in the finish.

2004 vintage

Very dark. Horsey, raisins in the nose. Glycerol feel. Dark fruit but not very developed or giving.

2004 vintage

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Zenato, Amarone della Valpolicella, Classico

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