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Azienda Vitivinicola Zenato
Zenato's first Amarone: 85% Corvina from hillside vines in Sant'Ambrogio, dried for three to four months and aged about four years in big oak casks. Warm, velvety and 16.5%. From £43 a bottle in the UK, or £28.71 for a half bottle.
Prices read daily from 4 UK retailers. We earn a commission on some links; it never changes the order.
Stock is shown where the retailer publishes it, offers are sorted by price, and unavailable offers can’t be clicked.
No current retailer offer matches that combination.
Stock status is read from each retailer’s page once a day and may lag. Case and magnum listings show a per-bottle or per-litre equivalent and sit outside the best-price figure.
Zenato's sheet describes it as warm, full and velvety, with cherries in spirit, dried plum, fig and sweet tobacco. Vivino's own description calls it round, velvety and smooth, and James Suckling gave the 2020 96 points.
Cherries in spirit, dried plum, fig, sweet tobacco and fine spice, with hints of leather and cocoa, just as Zenato's own sheet lists them. Oak, chocolate and vanilla come first in the glass, then plum and blackberry, then raisin and prune. The 2020 is more restrained in its fruit: raspberry, earth, black pepper, bay leaf and cocoa powder.
Black cherry
Fig
Plum
Prune
Raisin
Tobacco
Leather
Black pepper
CocoaWarm, full and velvety, with tannin present and good freshness behind it. Drying the grapes for three to four months before pressing concentrates them, which is where the raisin and prune notes and the 16.5% alcohol come from. The fruit grows on chalky, stony hillside vineyards at 300 to 350 metres in Sant'Ambrogio di Valpolicella. The 2020's tannins are chalky yet ripe, with a fresh, cleansing acidity: James Suckling's 96-point vintage.
Long, with ripe fruit, spice and a light balsamic note returning. About four years in big oak casks of 3,000 and 6,500 litres round the edges. The 2020's finish is toasty.
This is Zenato's first Amarone, made since the 1967 vintage. The estate also makes a Riserva Sergio Zenato, at roughly double the price, and an Archivio Storico. Drinkers like this one, year after year: round, velvety and smooth, with oak, dark fruit and dried fruit the notes that come up most. Drink the 2020 now with food or hold it into the 2030s; the five-star 2019 will go longer.
Three shops we track have the 2020 in stock: Xtrawine at £43 on offer, Vino.com at £52 on offer and Eurowines at £54.04. Eurowines also lists the 2019 as a half bottle at £28.71, the lowest price on this page, and as a magnum at £110.12.
Half bottle 37.5cl · 2019: £28.71, 1 UK retailer
Magnum 150cl · 2019: £110.12, 1 UK retailer
Strongest for an occasion and with food: a DOCG Amarone with 96 points from James Suckling, full enough for braised beef and game. At £43 a bottle it also scores well on value against the 232 Amarone bottles we track.
Amarone della Valpolicella is a DOCG red made from dried grapes, and this one carries 96 points from James Suckling for the 2020 and 95 for the 2019. A bottle for a long dinner, not a weeknight.
Full, velvety and 16.5%, so it wants food with weight. Zenato's Amarone sits best with braised beef, roast lamb, game and blue cheese, the matches drinkers name too.
At £43 a bottle for the 2020 it is cheaper than about two thirds of the 232 Amarone bottles we track in stock. Their middle price is £52.50, and this one carries 96 points from James Suckling.
The DOCG asks for two years of ageing and Zenato gives about four in big oak casks. The vintage charts give the five-star 2019 fifteen to twenty years and the 2020 into the mid or late 2030s.
A classic dried-grape Amarone, immediately approachable. Still, 16.5% alcohol and a velvety, raisin-rich style make it a big first step rather than an easy one.
At 16.5% and £43 a bottle this is a wine for a long dinner, not a weeknight. The dried-grape richness asks for a slow dish and a cold evening.
Scoring is rule-based and deterministic. The model and weightings are documented in our Wine Fit Score methodology.
A compact view of what the Amarone della Valpolicella denomination actually requires, and how this bottle sits inside it. Pulled from the official Italian disciplinare.
Both Amarone charts give 2019 five stars: a cool spring, then a warm summer with cool nights. They give 2020 four stars after a wet June and mid-August rain. James Suckling scored Zenato's 2019 at 95 and the 2020 at 96.
A four-star year the charts call challenging: a warm, dry early spring, then a cool, wet June and heavy rain in mid-August. Growers picked selectively. The Valpolicella wine consortium found an excellent acid backbone, and James Suckling scored Zenato's 2020 96 points, drinkable now but best in a year or two.
A five-star year on both Amarone charts: a cool, rainy spring, a warm but not extreme summer and cool late-August nights. James Suckling gave Zenato's 2019 95 points for its velvety tannins and zesty acidity. The Terroir Amarone chart says the year has the tannin and acid for 15 to 20 years.
A four-star year the charts call challenging: a warm, dry early spring, then a cool, wet June and heavy rain in mid-August. Growers picked selectively. The Valpolicella wine consortium found an excellent acid backbone, and James Suckling scored Zenato's 2020 96 points, drinkable now but best in a year or two.
Drink-now / hold guidance reflects general style cues for this wine, not a forecast for a specific bottle. Where vintage-level editorial notes exist, they appear above.
The DOCG asks for at least two years of ageing before release. Zenato dries the grapes for three to four months. The wine then spends about four years in big oak casks of 3,000 and 6,500 litres before bottling.
Italian wine law sorts bottles into a pyramid. DOCG sits at the top: tightly drawn boundaries, prescribed grapes, mandatory ageing, government tasting before release. DOC is the same idea with looser thresholds. IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) is broader still, requiring only that 85% of the grapes come from the named territory.
Amarone della Valpolicella is in the DOCG tier. That is not a quality verdict, it is a description of how much freedom the producer has at vinification and ageing.
Amarone della Valpolicella falls within Veneto, covering Verona. The denomination is further divided into 2 sub-zones.
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Peschiera del Garda
Made at Azienda Vitivinicola Zenato, Peschiera del Garda. Directions
Wine routes in the zone: Valpolicella Classico Loop, Strada del Vino Soave.
Zenato lays the bunches in crates in the drying loft for three to four months, spaced so air can pass. They lose water and weight there. Eight tonnes of grapes a hectare, the sheet's 80 quintals, give less wine than a Valpolicella pressed fresh from the same vines.
The DOCG asks for two years of ageing. Zenato's sheet gives this wine about four years in 3,000 and 6,500 litre oak casks, then a further rest in bottle. Each vintage ties up cellar space and money for years before it is sold.
Zenato's sheet places the vines on chalky, stony slopes facing south-east at 300 to 350 metres, with an average vine age of 30 years. Picking is strictly by hand, between mid-September and mid-October. That is slow, skilled work on a slope.
The importer Winebow lists 200,000 bottles of the 2020. That scale helps the 2020 sell from £43. That is cheaper than about two thirds of the 232 in-stock Amarone bottles we track, whose middle price is £52.50.
Of a £43 bottle, about £10.96 is tax. Duty is £3.79 on a 75cl bottle at 16.5% alcohol, at the £30.62 per litre of pure alcohol rate in force since 1 February 2026. VAT is the other £7.17.
Dishes that go with this wine
Warm, full and velvety, with tannin present, in Zenato's words: it needs braised beef, roast lamb, game or a blue cheese. Vivino's drinkers list beef, lamb, game and blue cheese as its matches.
Warm, full and velvety at 16.5%, in Zenato's words, so the wine needs a dish with the same weight. Long-braised beef or veal has it, and the gravy picks up the wine's dried plum and fig.
Try with: Brasato al Barolo · Ossobuco alla Milanese · Bollito dei Pastori · Beef stew · More pairings →
The tannin is present, and in the 2020 it is tight, chalky yet ripe. Roast meat softens that grip, and the wine's raisin richness sits well beside a dark gravy.
Try with: Sunday Roast Beef · Roast Lamb with Mint Sauce · Venison Stew · Roast Duck · More pairings →
Salt in a blue or aged cheese meets the dried-fruit sweetness of an Amarone and makes the wine taste fresher. Blue cheese is among this wine's classic matches.
Try with: Blue cheese · Gorgonzola, pear, and walnut risotto · Strong cheddar cheese · Cheese board
Leather, smoke and earthy notes run through this wine, and Zenato's sheet lists leather and sweet tobacco. Those earthy notes carry straight into mushrooms and truffle.
Try with: Porcini mushroom risotto · Truffle risotto · Tajarin al Tartufo · Polenta alla Valdostana · More pairings →
The 2020 has a fresh, cleansing acidity, and Zenato's sheet promises good freshness. That freshness cuts through the fat of a lamb shank or a leg of lamb, and the wine's weight matches the meat.
Try with: Lamb shank · Leg of lamb · Lamb chops · Agnello Ragu Lucano · More pairings →
At 16.5% the alcohol burns against chilli heat, and the wine's weight and dried fruit flatten anything delicate. Keep it away from sushi, ceviche and steamed fish.
Skip with: Crispy chilli beef · Nigiri Sushi · Steamed sea bass · Ceviche · Pairing guide →
The 2019 has the tannin and acid for 15 to 20 years, says the Terroir Amarone chart. The 2020 should run into the mid or late 2030s. Zenato's four years in cask mean it drinks well on release too.
A short splash decant softens the first-pour edge and opens the aromatics.
Aim for the cooler end on a warm day; warmer end opens up more aromatics.
The DOCG asks for two years of ageing and Zenato gives about four in big oak casks. The vintage charts give the five-star 2019 fifteen to twenty years and the 2020 into the mid or late 2030s.
£54.04 for a 75cl bottle of the 2020, at EuroWines, is the best price we track, and we have no signal of further discounting.
Read directly from each retailer’s public product page once a day. Last refresh: 27 Oct 2026, 05:06 BST. We do not hold stock and we do not accept payment for placement.
Confidence · HighDrawn from what drinkers consistently report on Vivino, summarised in our own words. A crowd read across many tasters, not a single critic. Drinkers score it 4.4 out of 5 from 61,106 ratings on Vivino.
Confidence · MediumFrom the official Italian disciplinare for this denomination, cross-checked against the Ministry of Agriculture register.
Confidence · HighOur reading of the price, drawn from the disciplinare, public UK duty rates, and typical landed-cost benchmarks. Not a quote from the producer or a retailer.
Confidence · MediumStyle guidance for this kind of wine at this price point. Treat it as advice, not a forecast for the bottle in your hand.
Confidence · MediumMostly Corvina Veronese, 85% on Zenato's sheet, with 10% Rondinella and 5% Oseleta and Croatina. The importer Winebow says Corvina brings the cherry flavour and stands up to drying, Rondinella adds colour and a floral note, Oseleta gives tannin and Croatina youthful fruit. The grapes come from hillside vineyards in Sant'Ambrogio di Valpolicella. They are dried for three to four months before pressing, which is what makes an Amarone.
Warm, full and velvety, with cherries in spirit, dried plum, fig, sweet tobacco, leather and cocoa on Zenato's own sheet. Vivino's drinkers mention oak, chocolate, plum, raisin and prune most often. It is a dry red at 16.5% alcohol with a long finish.
The 2020 drinks well now and should hold into the mid or late 2030s. The five-star 2019 has the tannin and acidity for 15 to 20 years, according to the Terroir Amarone vintage chart. Zenato ages it about four years in big oak casks before release, so it arrives ready to open.
Braised beef, roast lamb, venison and blue cheese. The wine is full and velvety at 16.5%, so it wants a dish with the same weight. Vivino's drinkers list beef, lamb, game and blue cheese as its matches. Serve it at 18C, as Zenato recommends.
Three UK shops we track have the 2020 in stock: Xtrawine at £43 on offer from £48, Vino.com at £52 on offer from £57.14, and Eurowines at £54.04. Eurowines also sells the 2019 as a half bottle at £28.71 and as a magnum at £110.12. Prices change as the shops change them.
The Riserva Sergio Zenato is the estate's dearer, separately named Amarone; this Classico is Zenato's first and standard Amarone, made since the 1967 vintage according to the importer Winebow. On Vivino the Riserva's 2017 to 2019 vintages list at 97 to 132 euros, roughly double this Classico. Zenato also makes an Archivio Storico Amarone.
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Amarone della Valpolicella
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5 retailers
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