Brigaldara Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso DOC 2023

Brigaldara's Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso is bright ruby red with aromas of red plum, cherry, black pepper, marzipan and exotic flowers, along with a saline nuance. The bright and vibrant wine shows balance, blending savory herbs with spiced orange peels and crushed blackberries. Silky smooth tannins sooth the palate with cooling acidity and ripe red and black fruits as saline minerals saturate toward the close. It finishes with a pleasantly chewy sensation, leaving tart blackberry and a hint of dark chocolate.

Ripasso is produced through the refermentation of Amarone della Valpolicella pomace. A vintage Valpolicella is placed in contact with the Amarone skins, still rich in residual sugars, which initiate a second fermentation. This slow process enriches the wine in color, aroma and flavour, adding delicate hints of dried fruit while preserving its identity. The result remains a Valpolicella with a fresh, lively structure, where fruit and vibrancy stay at the forefront, while the more mature notes lend additional depth and complexity.

The base Valpolicella for this Ripasso is built from Corvina (45%) and Corvinone (40%), with smaller additions of Rondinella (15%) and other native varieties, sourced from vineyards around San Floriano and Marcellise at altitudes between roughly 150 and 250 meters. Grapes are hand harvested and placed in small crates before being destemmed and gently pressed. The harvesting period is very important for this wine, due to the delicacy of its aromas and to the fragile sensory balance in which acidity plays a fundamental role. Fermentation takes place at a controlled temperature with constant skin contact, using pumping over twice a day and a délestage partway through to favor color extraction. The Valpolicella wine is refermented on Amarone marcs for five days, with short pumping overs to keep the upper part wet, then aged one year and a half in large wooden barrels.

The name Brigaldara first appears in a deed from 1260, referring to a cluster of farmhouses and the surrounding countryside near San Floriano, in the heart of the Valpolicella Classica district. Today the estate is owned by the Cesari family, with winemaker Stefano Cesari overseeing about fifty hectares of vineyards and olive groves. The winery favors natural, traditional production methods, aiming to let each wine reflect the character of this long-cultivated terroir just outside the Marano valley.