Villa Canestrari Valpolicella Ripasso DOC Superiore 'I Lasi' 2016

The Story of Villa Canestrari began in 1888 just out of Verona in the Veneto region of Italy and is now in its 4th generation of family wine makers. Today, the fourth generation carries on the hard work of their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents in a precise, environmentally aware manner, preserving the passion for quality that has always characterised the family for over a century.

'Ripasso' method is a technique that is done by the 're-passing' of the Valpolicella wine on the dried grape skins of Amarone, still warm and rich in sugar. The Valpolicella remains in contact with the pomace of Amarone for 10 to 12 days, during which a second alcoholic fermentation occurs. It is then transferred into oak barrels for 18 months. The grapes used in this wine are corvina, corvinone and rondinella. Not heard of these before? Neither had we but don’t get caught up with that, just know that together they are like the Rolling Stones, just awesome.

Ok enough of all the wine chat, let’s start talking about how it tastes in the glass! This is an intense wine but by that we don’t mean overpowering we mean full of flavour. The deep, deep garnet colour almost hypnotises you. The aromas strike the nose and the red currant and dark fruits fill the nostrils. The taste is velvety smooth with stone fruits, especially cherries and plums, filling the palate as well as notes of that typical Euro earthiness emanating from the alluvial soil.

If you love this Valpolicella Wine 2016, you should check out our Valpolicella Amarone and try it today!

What to eat with this? We cooked a mouth-watering char-grilled quail with a butter and thyme sauce (click for recipe), and it was just perfect! Don’t forget to decant this beauty for about an hour before drinking, and we drank it out of a Bordeaux glass which worked well.

Popsy & JJ tasted and food matched February 2022

Glass

Bordeaux

Cellaring

Up to 10 years

Decanter

Decant for 30+ mins