Valpolicella, the “valley of many cellars”, is located in northeast Italy, just north of Verona. This is likely where the wine Romeo and Juliet drank came from, at least until their fabled, untimely end. The majority of the reds here are lighter due to the grape varieties, dominated by Corvina, Corvinone and Rhondinella, which tend to have thinner skins. To compensate for this, methods have been developed which concentrate color and flavor. One of these is to dry the grapes on straw mats in the sun prior to pressing. Amarone della Valpolicella is made this way. It is a rich, full bodied red. The ripasso method utilizes what is left over after the Amarone grapes are pressed. The juice for the ripasso wine is “passed through” the lees of the Amarone, drawing more color, body and tannin from them. A good Ripasso can rival an Amarone, but in general they are the lesser cousin in the Valpolicella heirarchy. They are also some of my favorite wines from this area. Let’s take a look at a good one.
Wine: 2018 Marchesi Discardo Valpolicella Ripasso
Winery Location: Veneto Region of Italy
Tasted By: Neil & Cheri Date: May 2023
Tasting Notes: A medium dark, purple red wine, this has some amber hues as well. The nose is full of cherry, berry fruit, tobacco, oak and coffee. This is wonderfully complex, smooth and full bodied. The fruit core remains in control throughout. Just enough acid to keep it well balanced. Tannins are medium, and well integrated. The finish is long. This is a pretty delightful red wine, and a good example of how much you can get in a quality bottle of Ripasso della Valpolicella.
Price Point – $28
Would We Buy It? – Yes we would buy this again. It is a wine of very high quality and a joy to drink Very much worth the price here and a great value wine.
If you don’t want to spend the money on an Amarone, which typically will run you north of $50, then try a Ripasso della Valopolicella. Some call them baby Amarones, but they stand on their own quite nicely.
A votre santé!
Leave a Reply