I Decanters maj nummer 2009 så utses Marco Sartori från Roccolo Grassi till "Stars of Italy". Det är andra gången Marco får denna utmärkelse i Decanter, första gången i Decanters maj nummer 2003. Maj 2009:




Decanter - 1st of May 2003: Ten Stars of Italy -  Roccolo Grassi, Mezzane di Sotto (Veneto)
[from http://www.decanter.com/archive/article.php?id=44163]

"Marco Sartori is a very capable young winemaker with independent views that include unfashionable reservations about the current Amarone boom: 'The market wants Amarone at the moment, but I think as a producer you must be cautious. Of the 4.5 million bottles being turned out these days, only around 10% is of a quality that I would like to produce.' Sartori makes a major-league Amarone, in tiny quantities. He makes four times the amount of Valpolicella Superiore, which he sees as a key product. More and more producers are treating this denomination as a kind of scaled-down Amarone, using one of the various permitted options to give Valpolicella a dried grape character. Marco has abandoned this practice. Instead he has launched a project on the new family estate aimed at creating a classic-style dry red from Valpolicella varieties which is independent of Amarone. Contrary to the Veronese practice of sourcing both wines from the same plots, he planted a separate vineyard for his Valpolicella.

Valpolicella Superiore 1999 ****

First vintage: 1998 Production: 8,000 btls

Fruit, incense and a distinctive note of tobacco leaf on the nose. Round and full on the palate, a little warm, but lots of interest in the aroma. 2003–2005. N/A UK. +39 045 888 0089"