Michele Castellani 2020 Amarone della Valpolicella Riserva Cinque Stelle DOCG 750ml

Cinque Stelle represents the top tier of Michele Castellani's Amarone program — a genuinely powerful wine produced exclusively from the family's best upper-slope vines, grown right in their own backyard vineyards in Marano di Valpolicella. The 2020 vintage carries the Riserva designation, and the extra care shows throughout: grapes are carefully selected and air-dried for three to four months using the traditional appassimento method, before undergoing soft pressing and a genuinely patient, slow fermentation lasting over 40 days at controlled temperatures with the skins. The finished wine then ages three full years in cask — 80% in large, traditional 5,000-liter Slavonian oak, with the remaining 20% in smaller French oak barriques, a combination that balances gentle, slow oxidative development against a touch of more direct French oak influence.

SaratogaWine's official tasting notes describe a bouquet "of black cherries, blackberry and plum jam, spices, tobacco, and black pepper," with the palate "velvety, full-bodied, and elegant, with soft tannins and the total recall of fruity notes." Vine Connections' extended tasting adds real nuance: "a little reticent on the nose for the moment, but immediately expansive on the palate, showing dried red berries and flowers, together with toasted Indian spice and a light toffee note," describing the wine as "full-bodied with a compact palate of fruit and spice that envelops the fine-grained tannins, turning more and more savory as the long finish progresses," concluding it's "tightly packed and needs a bit of time to unravel and show the full extent of its complexity" — and adding, genuinely: "will be great in years to come if you can withstand holding onto it that long!"

For house-style context, the 2017 vintage of Cinque Stelle earned an impressive sweep of scores — 93 points from James Suckling, 93 from Wine Spectator, 91 from Vinous, and 90 from Wine Advocate — confirming this bottling's consistent, multi-critic pedigree across vintages. This is genuinely serious, patient Amarone from a family estate's very best vineyard sites — built for real cellaring, and best paired, per Vine Connections' own recommendation, with "roasts, game, grilled meat and seasoned cheeses."

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. Cinque Stelle is produced from the family's best upper-slope vines, grown in their own backyard vineyards on the beautiful slopes of the Valpolicella Classico zone, northwest of Verona, in the western corner of the Veneto region — a mild-to-cool continental climate shaped by proximity to Lake Garda to the west and the Adriatic Sea to the southeast, on clay and limestone soils.

Made from Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara, the grapes are carefully selected and air-dried for three to four months using the traditional appassimento method, then gently pressed and fermented slowly — over 40 days — at controlled temperatures with the skins. The 2020 vintage carries the Riserva designation, aged three years in cask: 80% in traditional 5,000-liter Slavonian oak barrels, with the remaining 20% in new French oak barriques.

Critics Reviews

James Suckling 94 Points, "Quite delicate aromas of currants, raisins, dark spices and pressed flowers, which open up nicely on the full-bodied palate and expand further in tandem with the lightly firm tannins. I like the progression here, and this will age very nicely. Nice to drink even now, but this is one you can confidently cellar at will."

Natalie Maclean, 94 points: "Meet the Michele Castellani Cinque Stelle Amarone: austere yet invitingly generous, with dense black cherry, cassis and plum folded into anise spice and white-pepper heat. A smoky seam of flinty mineral and bittersweet chocolate underscores velvet-rich tannins. Crafted from sun-dried Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella & Molinara, each berry rests in Slavonian cask and French barrique for three years, then another year in bottle. A sublime lesson in Valpolicella’s raisined power. Perfect alongside some osso buco with saffron risotto."

Vine Connections (extended tasting note, 2020 vintage):
"A powerful Amarone produced from the families' best upper slope vines in their backyard vineyards and aged 3 years in cask. A little reticent on the nose for the moment, but immediately expansive on the palate, showing dried red berries and flowers, together with toasted Indian spice and a light toffee note. Full-bodied with a compact palate of fruit and spice that envelops the fine-grained tannins, turning more and more savory as the long finish progresses. This is tightly packed and needs a bit of time to unravel and show the full extent of its complexity. Will be great in years to come if you can withstand holding onto it that long!"

Tasting Profile

Nose
A little reticent initially, developing black cherry, blackberry, and plum jam, joined by spices, tobacco, and black pepper, alongside dried red berries and florals.

Palate
Immediately expansive, velvety, and full-bodied, with a compact core of fruit and spice — toasted Indian spice and a light toffee note — enveloping fine-grained tannins.

Finish
Long, turning increasingly savory as it progresses, closing tightly packed with genuine potential to unravel and reveal further complexity with additional bottle age.

Quick Overview

Food Pairings

• Roasts and game
• Grilled meat
• Seasoned, aged cheeses
• Rich, savory braises