Falasco Valpantena Valpolicella Ripasso 2004

Rating: 92/100 - As reviewed by The Wine Messenger A Valpolicella Ripasso with plenty of red fruit flavors. Will charm even the toughest critics.
Ripasso is an Italian process used in Valpolicella to give more richness to the Valpolicella. It also assumes that the grower also makes Amarone. Amarone is made with dehydrated grapes which have lost 30% or 40% of their juice. It is then pressed and that viscous liquid is put in barriques to age from 1 year to 18 months; with time, the lees drop to the bottom and the wine is clear. After bottling, the lees of the Amarone are kept in the cask which is then filled with Valpolicella. The new wine stays for read more...about 3 months and the lees are still able to transfer aromatic elements to the new wine which becomes rounder and richer. In this FALASCO bottle, the product is quite rich for such a low price.
Deep garnet color; nose of black cherries, kirsch and licorice. Medium-bodied; with gobs of fruit (cherries and ripe plums); smooth tannins; good acidity and balance; and a light sweetness in the finish. Great value for price. Can be cellared for 3-5 years. Suitable as cocktails or with big meat dishes such as Stracotto or big pasta dishes. Great value.
Barbecue Chicken, Italian Red Sauces, Pasta, Pork Sausage, Roasted Red Meats
Valpantena, or "valley of the gods," is named after the valley in which it resides, which has been renowned for its sweet, frangrant wines since Roman times. This valley, northeast of Verona, has fertile volcanic soils rich with minerals. It is the perfect site for Garganega to reach its full potential.
A remarkably diverse region, Valpolicella produces everything from easy-drinking ordinary wines that sell for $4.99 a bottle to powerful dry Amarones and sweet Reciotos made from dried grapes that sell for 8 to 12 times the price. In between these two extremes one finds the robust and intense Valpolicella Superiore wines, which are made with lower yields, more concentration and a minimum of a year's aging.

Overview Greek settlers first planted vineyards in Italy sometime around 800BC. Since then, wine has been entrenched in the Italian culture, ‘as common as water on the dinner table’. Most of the topography in Italy, about four fifths, is perfect for growing grapes, because of the hilly and mountainous features. These features helped Italy produce 20% of the worlds wine in the nineties (580 million hectoliters).

Italy greatly varies in topography, climate and culture from North to South and the styles of wine reflect these differences:

In the North, the Appennines Mountains and the lakes of Como, Garda and Maggiore work together to moderate the cool winters and hot summers and prolong the grapes’ growing season.

The Northeast is best known for the Nebbiolo grape, considered to produce the finest of Italian wines. The concentration of fruit, high tannin and acidity combine to produce a long-ageing wine with incredible depth and character.

The cool Northwest is better known for its white wines. Pinot Grigio is by far the most famous white wine in Italy, known for its crisp acidity and subtle fruit character.

Central Italy is renowned area for Chianti, a medium bodied, fruity and acidic red wine from the Sangiovese grape. The Southern area is much hotter and Mediterranean in character. Here, the wines are less tannic and lighter bodied in style, to better accompany the lighter cuisines of the area.

Recently Italy has experienced a rebirth in quality wines. Years ago the wine flowed like water and was equally flimsy and thin, but that is no longer the case. Throughout the twenty regions of Italy, more and more quality whites and reds can be found from places like Piedmont, Tuscany and Friuli. The category given out prestigious of wines in Italy is known as the DOC and DOCG. DOC stands for denominazione di origine controllata and DOCG stands for denominazione di orginie controllata e grarantita. These are guarantees of authenticity and quality that can be found on the label of the highest quality Italian wines from selected vineyards or regions.