Amarone della Valpolicella Classico - Ca' Coato - Antolini

Antolini's Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOCG "Ca' Coato" comes from one of the winery's historic vineyards in Marano di Valpolicella - "Ca' Coato", a dialect term denoting a landholding of ancient origin, characterized by particularly deep, clay-rich soils that give the grapes naturally greater concentration and a more imposing tannic structure than the Moròpio vineyard.

Antolini produces two distinct Amarone Classico wines - Moròpio and Ca' Coato - because it believes in the ability of the land to express itself differently from vineyard to vineyard, even at short distances. This cru philosophy is rare in Valpolicella and reflects a highly refined production vision and deep respect for the terroir. Ca' Coato is generally more structured, more tannic, and more austere when young than Moròpio - it requires greater patience but rewards it with extraordinary complexity and longevity.

The Corvina, Corvinone, and Rondinella grapes from the Ca' Coato vineyard are hand-harvested at full ripeness and dried in a traditional drying room for over 90 days, losing more than 35% of their weight. Fermentation is slow and prolonged, and aging takes place in large Slavonian oak casks for an even longer period than Moròpio, accentuating the wine's structure and complexity.

On the nose, it is darker and more austere than its sibling Moròpio: black fruit preserve (blackberry, blueberry, dark cherry), bitter dark chocolate, roasted coffee, pipe tobacco, fine leather, resin, oriental spices (cinnamon, cloves), and a deep, iron-rich, earthy minerality that evokes the vineyard's clay soils. On the palate, it is powerful and massive - dense, still-lively tannins in the early vintages that evolve over time toward unparalleled complexity - with enveloping glyceric sweetness, precise acidity, and a monumental finish lasting for minutes with successive waves of dark fruit, spices, and minerality. An Amarone for those who love great austere wines and have the patience to wait for it to open completely: ideally consume after at least 8-10 years from the harvest or decant for 3-4 hours.