On the nose, notes of red fruit and cherry. On the palate, it is sweet, soft, enveloping, fresh, savory and quite tannic with a spicy aftertaste.
The 2020 Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso Monti Garbi is wickedly spice and intense, opening with a whiff of crushed ashen stone and smokey black cherries. Its textures are silky and pure, with a savory mix of sour wild berries and salty mineral tones. This finishes with tremendous length yet energetic, leaving black currant and mocha hints to linger. - 92+pts Vinous
Winemaker Notes
Tenuta Sant'Antonio's Monti Garbi is a versatile wine that falls in between the winery’s Nanfrè Valpolicella and its Amarones in style. Ripasso is a traditional and fairly unique style of wine in which standard Valpolicella wine has undergone a second fermentation in the presence of pressed Amarone grape skins, which adds body and complexity. Monti Garbi starts with superiore-level grapes, which results in an even more robust wine. The name Monti Garbi comes from a vineyard in Mezzane di Sotto in the eastern part of Valpolicella. Monti means "hills," and Garbi is Venetian dialect for "rugged, arid, and poor," which describes the poor calcareous and chalky soil of the vineyard.
Professional Ratings
92
VinousThe 2020 Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso Monti Garbi is wickedly spice and intense, opening with a whiff of crushed ashen stone and smokey black cherries. Its textures are silky and pure, with a savory mix of sour wild berries and salty mineral tones. This finishes with tremendous length yet energetic, leaving black currant and mocha hints to linger.
91
James SucklingAromas of nutty red fruit and vanilla follow through to a medium-bodied palate with some very fine-grained tannins that are sinking below the surface nicely. Bright, almost steely finish. Still needs another year to show its best. Try from 2024.
About the Producer
Most of the historic producers of Valpolicella are located on the western side of the denomination, but the Valpolicella district stretches east across several hills and valleys almost to Soave, and it is in this eastern zone that some new, exciting, and innovative wineries have been established in recent decades. The soils in the eastern Valpolicella have a higher component of calcium carbonate, which imparts a higher acidity and bolder cherry fruit character to the wines.
