A red blend with a really unique and noble twist, we review the Le Ragose Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore.
A blend of 50% Corvina, 20% Corvinone, 20% Rondinella and 10% local grapes from vines up to 40 years old in estate vineyards. It is from the Classico zone of Valpolicella in Veneto, Italy. The Superiore designation means it was aged for at least one year before release, in this case, it spent 1 year in 25 hectoliter Slovenian oak casks and 1-2 years in bottle.
Well, here’s an intriguing wine! At first glance all the labels standout – Classico, Ripasso, Superiore. Dig a little deeper, however, and you find the truly interesting part is the “10% local grapes”.
It turns out the winery’s Le Sassine Vineyard has become a nursery for local varietals (some of which are pre-phylloxera). Many of these are on the verge of extinction. 30 different varietals make up that 10% and include grapes such as Forselina, Rossara, Pelara, Osaletta, Negrara, Rossignola, Rosetta, Dindarella, Croatina and more. It’s a really unique, lovely and noble twist and we commend them for it!
And while it is nice to know you are helping to save these varieties by drinking this wine, we still want to make sure it is worth the cost, so let’s check it out.
Sample submitted for review. It has an SRP $30 but with some work it can be found for as low as $23. It is imported by Gonzalez Byass USA.
From the bottle:
Dry, complex and elegant with intense, ripe cherry fruit, dried figs, cocoa powder, coffee and minerals.
14.5% Alcohol
The 2021 Le Ragose Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore opens with a pleasing aroma of ripe berry fruit, sweet spices and dried fruit notes. It’s a good start and a bit baby Amarone like but not quite as complex.
The wine tastes smooth and rich with good depth and features similar notes to the nose with lots of ripe fruit but also a good, juicy acidity. This is really pleasing and it went very well with our pizza dinner.
It ends dry, long, savory and quite lasting on the finish and was similar on day 2. This is definitely worth the cost, especialy when you know you are helping to preserve a bunch of local grapes on the verge of extinction.
2021 Le Ragose Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore
Looking for more great wine from Italy? Check out our giant list of The Best Italian Wines!
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