Valpolicella Ripasso DOC Classico Superiore “Ripassa” 2021
James Suckling 94Wine Spectator 93
Wine Description
Ripassa is Zenato's ripasso and one of the wines that made the category famous. The blend is Corvina 85%, Rondinella 10% and Oseleta 5% from the Costalunga estate at Sant'Ambrogio di Valpolicella. After a first fermentation of 10 to 12 days in steel, the wine waits until January, when it is passed over the freshly pressed Amarone pomace for another 7 to 8 days of fermentation, picking up colour, glycerol and dried fruit depth; it then ages 18 months in tonneaux and at least six in bottle.
The 2020 shows the house style clearly: wild berries and ripe cherry deepened by cocoa, forest spice and balsamic herbs, a soft, warm palate and a savoury finish. Serve at 16 to 18 °C with bigoli with duck ragu, guinea fowl, grilled or slow cooked meats and mature cheeses. It is ready now and will keep comfortably for several years.
Winery
Zenato was founded in 1960 by Sergio and Carla Zenato at San Benedetto di Lugana, on the southern shore of Lake Garda, where Sergio did early, serious work with the native Trebbiano di Lugana grape. The family later added the Costalunga estate at Sant'Ambrogio di Valpolicella, in the hills of the Classica zone, and it is from there that the Amarone, the Ripassa and the Corvina wines come. The second generation now runs the house, Nadia Zenato on the commercial side and her brother Alberto in production, farming some 95 hectares of family vineyards split between Lugana and the Valpolicella Classica.
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