Valpolicella Ripasso DOC
Ripasso is a wine from Verona’s country tradition and is made using a very old winemaking practice called “ripasso”. This technique involves reintroducing the young Valpolicella wine to the skins at the end of the fermentation of Amarone. In Ripasso there is the freshness and drinkability of the Valpolicella, but also the richer and more concentrated sensations of chocolate and sour cherry from the dried grapes.
85% Corvina Veronese, 10% Merlot and 5% Rondinella. The vines are vertical-trellised, with Guyot pruning and a planting density of 5000 plants/ha.
The hills of the Valpantena and Valpolicella Classica area. The soil is mainly calcareous-marl with a part that is volcanic, rich in iron.
First fermentation: the harvest is done by hand at the end of September. Fermentation in special wide and shallow steel tanks, which are ideal for increasing contact between must and skins, at a temperature of 20 to 22°C and lasting for about two weeks. Second fermentation «RIPASSO»: takes place in March on the Amarone skins that still have a good content of active yeasts, which allow the wine to ferment a second time.
It ages in 50 Hl Veronese-Bertani French oak barrels for 9 months.
It has an intense purple-red colour with purplish highlights. On the nose it has a very clean and intense aroma of ripe red fruit with hints of dark fruit, such as bramble, blackcurrant and ripe cherry. It is velvety and well-balanced, full and round while maintaining a lively and intense grip, with a sapid aftertaste.
This dense Ripasso can be easily matched with different Italian dishes: flavoursome pasta and rice dishes such as risotto with porcini mushrooms, grilled and roast meat and medium-matured cheeses.
