Zenato, Ripassa, Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore, Italy 2017

“A rich, medium- to full-bodied red with a deep toasty layer of smoke, brioche, coffee and spice layered with abundant dried cherry, red licorice and roasted fig flavors. It’s well-integrated, with sculpted tannins emerging to firm the long, mouthwatering finish. Drink now through 2027.”-92WS

This wine is a blend of 85% Corvina, 10% Rondinella, and 5% Oseleta. As soon as the dried grapes for the Amarone are fermented, selected batches of Valpolicella wine are “re-passed” over the Amarone lees, thus starting a second fermentation that slightly increases the alcohol content and gives the wine deeper color and more complex aromas. Ripassa is refined in tank for six months and then aged in French allier tonneaux for eighteen months. The wine spends an additional six months in bottle before it is released.