Michele Castellani 2019 Colle Cristi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 750ml

Michele Castellani is a genuine family-owned operation in Marano della Valpolicella, tending 17 hectares of vineyard with the kind of hands-on attention that shows clearly in the finished wine. Colle Cristi is the estate's serious, single-site Amarone bottling, made in the traditional Amarone della Valpolicella Classico style — grapes dried on straw mats for months before pressing, concentrating sugar, flavor, and structure well beyond what a standard Valpolicella red could ever achieve. The 2019 vintage is a blend of Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara, bottled at a genuinely powerful 15.5% ABV.

The critical reception has been consistently strong across multiple major publications. James Suckling awarded 93 Points, and Vinous matched with a 93+ score from Eric Guido, who described the wine as "dark and understated in the glass, mixing plum sauce and grilled herbs with a dusting of cocoa and dried roses," noting it "sweeps across the palate, opening with a pretty inner sweetness that's quickly offset by a saturation of tart red and blue berry fruits," with "a flourish of salted licorice and clove" lingering "as the 2019 tapers off, closing with primary concentration and grippy tannins" — recommending a drinking window of 2027 through 2040. Wine Spectator scored the wine 90 Points, rounding out a genuinely consistent, multi-publication endorsement.

This is a dense, patient Amarone built for real cellaring rather than immediate drinking — Guido's own recommended window pushes the wine's peak years out to 2027 and beyond, giving the substantial tannin structure time to properly integrate. This is genuinely serious Veneto wine from a respected family estate, showing the classic Amarone combination of dried dark fruit richness, savory herbal complexity, and real structural backbone.

Origins & Craftsmanship

Michele Castellani is a family-owned winery based in Marano della Valpolicella, in Italy's Veneto region, farming 17 hectares of estate vineyard. The winery is known for its Amarone and Valpolicella wines, produced using traditional regional methods.

Colle Cristi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico is made from a blend of Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara grapes, harvested and dried using the traditional appassimento method — laid out on straw mats or in drying lofts for months to concentrate sugars and flavor before pressing and fermentation, in keeping with classic Amarone della Valpolicella Classico production. The 2019 vintage is bottled at 15.5% ABV, with approximately 8 grams per liter residual sugar.

Critics Reviews

James Suckling — 93 Points

Eric Guido, Vinous — 93+ Points:
"The 2019 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Colle Cristi is dark and understated in the glass, mixing plum sauce and grilled herbs with a dusting of cocoa and dried roses. This sweeps across the palate, opening with a pretty inner sweetness that's quickly offset by a saturation of tart red and blue berry fruits. A flourish of salted licorice and clove lingers as the 2019 tapers off, closing with primary concentration and grippy tannins." Drinking window: 2027-2040.

Tasting Profile

Nose
Dark and understated, with plum sauce and grilled herbs leading, dusted with cocoa and dried rose.

Palate
A pretty inner sweetness opens the palate, quickly offset by a saturation of tart red and blue berry fruit. Salted licorice and clove linger as the wine tapers off, closing with primary concentration.

Finish
Grippy, structured tannins close the wine out — genuinely built for extended cellaring, with real potential to develop further complexity over the coming decade-plus.

Quick Overview

Food Pairings

• Braised or roasted red meat
• Aged, hard cheeses (Parmigiano-Reggiano, aged pecorino)
• Rich, savory stews and ragùs
• Dark chocolate desserts