Valpolicella Ripasso
⏳ Drinking Window
2026 - 2034
🍷 Vintage Profile
The 2023 growing season in Valpolicella was characterized by heavy spring precipitation and heightened mildew pressure, demanding meticulous canopy management before settling into a warm, dry late summer. Excellent diurnal temperature swings across September preserved brisk natural acidity and promoted clean phenolic maturation across Corvina and Rondinella, yielding energetic Amarone pomace for the second fermentation. The resulting wine emphasizes floral lift, red cherry acidity, and refined structural grip over the denser, heat-driven profile of 2022. Showing notable poise upon its release, the 2023 vintage is accessible in 2026 and poised to drink well through 2032.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Braised beef short ribs, mushroom and taleggio risotto, aged Monte Veronese cheese.
✨ Technical Specifications
Cultivated on terraced limestone and marl hillside parcels within the Valpantena valley, this Superiore bottling relies on the classic blend of Corvina, Corvinone, and Rondinella. After primary autumn fermentation, the young wine undergoes a secondary fermentation in late winter over the residual warm pomace of dried Amarone grapes—a traditional ripasso technique that imparts depth, structural grip, and concentrated fruit tones. Maturation takes place over roughly twelve months in large oak casks and barriques, integrating fine wood tannins before release.
🍾 About the Producer
Established as the flagship premium brand of Cantina Valpantena—a pioneering cooperative founded in 1958 northeast of Verona—Torre del Falasco represents the pinnacle of viticulture in the Valpantena valley. The label derives its evocative name from a fabled seventeenth-century brigand who sought refuge in a tower in nearby Stallavena. Guided for decades by general manager and oenologist Luca Degani alongside head winemaker Michele Peroni, the estate sources fruit from terraced hillside vineyards planted between 100 and 300 meters above sea level. Here, poor, limestone- and chalk-rich soils combine with cooling alpine downdrafts from the Dolomites to preserve crystalline acidity and aromatic purity. Employing rigorous bunch selection and certified sustainable methods, the cellar balances traditional appassimento drying with temperature-controlled vinification. Benchmark releases include the plush, dark-fruited Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG, a structured Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore, an unwooded, vibrant Corvina Veronese, and a mineral-driven Garganega.
🍇 Grapes
Corvina, Rondinella, Corvinone
🍷 ABV
14.0%