Tasting Notes
The story
Valpolicella is a wine with rather a poor image as too much poorly made Valpolicella is produced. But it deserves a closer look because if you select carefully your producer, a Classico DOP from the better hillside sites of the region and steer away from basic light, fruity Valpolicella, you can ensure great quality, like this Valpolicella Ripasso from Guerrieri Rizzardi's Pojega vineyard.
Valpolicella is always produced from a blend of grapes - in this case
45% Corvinone, 45% Corvina and the balance made up from Rondinella and Merlot. It uses essentially the same grape varieties as Amarone for which prices can be up to three times higher. In fact for Valpolicella Ripasso the Valpolicella wine is
refermented on top of the skins of the 'recioto' grapes used for Amarone. The recioto grapes have been dried before fermentation which increases their concentration and complexity.
The result is that Valpolocella Ripasso intensifies in strength, body, aromas, colour, flavours and tannins without becoming quite as rich as Amarone itself. It is therefore
fuller, richer and softer than traditional "plain" Valpolicella. This example is delicious and great value for such a good quality wine. If you fancy a real treat, try
the richer Amarone from the same producer.
The wine
The full tasting notes for the 2016 vintage of this wine are coming soon; here's what I say about the 2015 which is still in stock:
"The first sniff of this wine gives clues to its complexity with black cherries, ripe plums, herbal and savoury notes. Rondinella adds floral notes to the aromas, Corvina brings elegance, aromas and acidity with Corvinone contributing colour, tannins and higher sugar levels. On tasting you will find a medium-bodied which coats the mouth beautifully with its concentrated fruit flavours; there is a long finish of cherries with a hint of warm spices such as cinnamon and raisins. The acidity is quite high which means that despite the fruits and full body, this is not a heavy wine at all. Tannins are very soft and the wine lovely and smooth.
This wine will keep on developing for two or three years in bottle, becoming richer and its flavours moving towards the Amarone dried fruit flavour profile. In the interim it is very drinkable and amazingly concentrated."
Food Pairing
The producer suggests consuming this wine with grilled lamb cutlets, fillet or sirloin of beef, stews, casseroles and hard, aged cheese. It would also work well with roasted meat, game dishes slightly sweet dishes, most cheeses, cured meats and also with savoury dishes flavoured with lemon. Also delicious on its own
Producer's Notes
Coming soon
