Amarone 'Gioé' Santa Sofia 2016
The Amarone Classico "Gioè" is a warm, soft, and rich expression of Valpolicella from grapes dried for 100 days, which ages for 42 months in barriques. The aromatic range is dense and very intense, successively offering fruit in alcohol and jam, notes of cocoa, mint, underbrush, and dried figs. On the palate, it is silky, powerful, and velvety, with well-crafted tannins.
The red Amarone “Gioé” is a wine in which the different native varieties that compose it – Corvina, Corvinone, and Rondinella – find the ideal conditions for perfect growth in the vineyard, creating a product with a harmonious character and strong longevity - it can easily be uncorked in more than 10 years. A bottle whose name indicates the upper part of Monte Gradella, an area particularly suited for the production of exceptional grapes due to the composition of the soil and solar exposure. An Amarone that Santa Sofia has produced only 17 times since 1964, only when the conditions allow the winery to create a truly superior quality label. Beyond words, it just needs to be tasted!
This “Gioé” is an Amarone that Santa Sofia produces starting from the classic blend of native red grape varieties from the area, namely Corvina, Corvinone, and Rondinella – the latter present in the blend with 20%. These varieties grow in vineyards located near Marano di Valpolicella, Fumane, and San Pietro in Cariano. The clusters, after harvesting, are left to dry for 100 days in boxes. The winemaking occurs traditionally, and the subsequent aging involves three different stages: first, the wine rests for 24 months in Slavonian oak barrels, then continues to age for 18 months in French oak barriques, and finally, after bottling, it remains for another 2 years in the bottle.
The Amarone “Gioé” signed by the Santa Sofia winery is characterized by a garnet color, impenetrable to the eye, very concentrated. The story of the aromas that spread to the nose tells of deep and intense notes, starting from fruit in alcohol to describe an infinity of different nuances, from the underbrush to dried flowers. In the mouth it has excellent body, warm, with a sip almost chewable thanks to a particularly enveloping and silky tannic structure. A great Venetian red, perfect to uncork during important dinners, where the courses – especially based on red meat and game – are able to enhance its the excellent structure.