Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso 2021 (David Sterza)

Cellar for up to 6 years. Decant up to 2 hours. A classic Valpolicella blend of Corvina, Corvinone, and Rondinella. There are even historical documents revealing that ancient Romans loved this style of wine. It is intense ruby red in color, bursting with ripe fruit, cherry, and blackberry with warm spices of cloves, nutmeg, and ginger (a trademark of all Valpolicella wine) and hints of pipe tobacco. The palate explodes with cassis, raspberry, and warm spices with bitter tertiary notes under the wet and persistent heat. It is full-bodied with a slight sapidity typical of Valpolicella Classico Superiore wines. The finish is bold and spicy with juicy red fruit, pipe tobacco, smoke and spices that linger on like an afterthought. This robust red should be cellared for at least the next six months and up to the next 10 years. Enjoy it with a chill on, around 18°C. This Ripasso is perfect to drink with large game and red meat, either braised or grilled, pasta with meat sauce, and hard, pungent cheeses. Ripasso means to "re-pass" and is a method of wine-making where passito grapes that have been dried out are re-fermented with standard Valpolicella wine. This gives the resulting ripasso deep character and bold flavors. Passito and ripasso techniques are so successful that they both have dedicated DOC titles. David Sterza established his operation in 1998 with his cousin Paolo Mascanzoni. Until then, the vineyards had been strictly selling the harvested fruit instead of making their own wine.