Domenico Fraccaroli Grotta Del Ninfeo Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso 2019

Valpolicella Ripasso Grotta del Ninfeo has an intense ruby red colour with subtle hints of red ripe fruit, toasted wood, cocoa and coffee on the nose. On the palate, it's full-bodied and harmonious, as a “silk dress tailored for the palate,” it is refined and elegant, with soft, light tannins and an incredibly long, persistent finish, culminating in a lingering spicy sensation, which evolves glass after glass.

Ripasso is produced by putting Valpolicella wine in a tank with the leftover pressed grape skins and stems of Amarone. The sugar remaining in the pressed grapes begins a secondary fermentation, adding extra alcohol and complexity, while retaining the more delicate character of Valpolicella. Aged 12 months in French oak tonneaux (large barrels which give less oak-influence than barriques). 70% Corvinone and Corvina, 20% Rondinella and 10% Molinara.

In 1958 Domenico Fraccaroli began producing wines from local varieties on a small piece of paradise in Friuli-Venezia-Giulia. In 2002, his son, Tiziano Fraccaroli, purchased an estate in Verona, in the town of Lavagno, the Grotta del Ninfeo, allowing the family to expand their range and produce the wines of Valpolicella. The third generation, Domenico and Luca, now in charge of the estate, continue their family tradition.