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, aim for a Classico DOP from the better hillside sites of the region and steer away from basic light, fruity straight 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 vintage
50% Corvinone, 30% Corvina, 10% Rondinella and 10% Merlot. It uses essentially the same grape varieties as Amarone for which prices can be up to three times higher. For Valpolicella Ripasso
the wine is refermented on top of the skins of the 'recioto' grapes used for Amarone, i.e. grapes that have been dried before fermentation to increase 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 complexity of this wine starts on the nose with black cherries, ripe plums, floral, 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 wine 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
"The middle of a trio of vintages from which we managed to harvest grapes of very high quality. The 2016 has an added richness of texture and well defined dark cherry fruit aligned with subtle spice. Full flavoured but never heavy, a classic style."
Awards
Due Bicchieri Rossi (effectively better than very good but not quite extraordinary) Gambero Rosso 2019
4 Grappoli (effectively wines of great quality) Bibenda 2019
