Zenato, Sergio Zenato Riserva, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2016 (16.5%)

£90-£119 Eurowines, Grand Vin, Hedonism, Honest Grapes, Ideal Wine Co

This remarkable Amarone won the very highest acclaim from its original judging panel and sailed through every subsequent judging stage, to the extent that its appearance as a Best in Show was never seriously in doubt. It’s already more than five years old, but is still very dark in the glass – and it’s a wine of remarkable aromatic complexity. Amarone lovers will know just how many allusions these wines are capable of evoking, and it’s not hard to make out mushrooms, forest underbrush, truffle, Havana leaf and even woodland violets, as well as the usual confit cherries and plums, in the aromatic profile. In the mouth, the wine is concentrated yet elegant. Fine-beaded tannins lend support, and the concentration of fruit is such that any overt acidity is almost an afterthought.

‘Sergio Zenato is produced only in excellent vintages, from the oldest vineyards in Sant’Ambrogio in the heart of the Valpolicella

Classico zone,’ says co-owner Nadia Zenato. Founded in 1960 by Nadia’s father Sergio, Zenato’s land today totals 95ha of vineyards in both Lugana and Valpolicella Classico.

‘Our Sant’Ambrogio vineyard is in the western part of Valpolicella Classico, 250m-300m above sea level, with a southeast exposition on morainic soils with a composition of limestone, clay, chalk and slate,’ she explains. ‘The climate tends to be mild and continental, with cool breezes coming from the Alps, providing constant ventilation. Sergio Zenato is made using the ancient appassimento method, in which whole bunches are collected by hand and dried in dedicated rooms called fruttaio.

‘The grapes are dried for four months before being crushed. Raisined grapes add body, texture and spice, as well as a distinctive flavour and longevity.’ What follows is a slow fermentation with skin contact before the wine is aged for 36 months in large Slavonian oak casks, then further in bottle until the wine’s sweet spot is reached.