92/100 - Gilbert & Gaillard (2011 vintage)
90/100 - Wine Spectator (2011 vintage)
90/100 - Decanter (2011 vintage)
Gold - Mundus Vini (2011 vintage)
Gold - Berliner Wine Trophy (2019 awards)
Top Ten Red Wines from the 2015 Savor CT Event
Neil Dubois "Stunning....a great wine which drinks like a right bank Bordeaux from a great vintage. This is another outstanding wine [from Tenuta Santa Maria]."
The Winemaker - "Complex aroma with hints of wild berries and dried plums, accompanied by notes of coffee, eucalyptus and vanilla. Well-structured, soft tannins, well-balanced acidity and consistency. Intense, with a fine liquorice aftertaste. Expressing the local terroir with an international grape variety by combining Merlot with a unique Veronese tradition of the drying known as appassimento. Some of the grapes are picked in late September and left to dry for about a month in protected airy locales on the estate. "
Winestyle "fresh fruity taste with a dense structure and a perfect balance of acidity, sweetness and spice tones. The wine has an intense aroma with notes of black currant, plum, raspberry, cherry and hints of spice."
Decanter - '16 Distinctive Wines from the Veneto' "Ripe black cherry and dark plum notes mix with hints of eucalyptus, graphite and spice box in this finely integrated red. Fresh and focused, with light tannins and accents of espresso and graphite on the finish. Merlot. Drink now through 2023. 400 cases. (2008 vintage)
Wine Enthusiast "Decima Aurea is a refined and elegant expression of Merlot with deep and long aromas of ripe cherry, blackberry pie, Indian spice, clove and old spice. The wine shows the sophistication of age, but also promises years of cellar aging."
This single-vineyard Merlot obtains its unique character through the selection of three clones, low-yield and high-density cultivation at 9,100 vines per hectare. Part of the grapes are left to dry for about a month, while the others are picked in October in a stage of over-ripening. The grapes are low-temperature macerated and fermented in stainless steel tanks and then aged for 14 months in French oak barriques.
Intense, ruby red in color. Complex aroma with hints of wild berries and dried plums, accompanied by notes of coffee, cocoa powder, eucalyptus and vanilla. Well-structured, soft tannins, well-balanced acidity and consistency. Intense, with a fine liquorice aftertaste.