Hello, fellow wine lover! Wine Wednesday is upon me again - man, it comes fast from one week to the next! Not that I’m complaining, let’s be honest! ;-)

This week, I found myself still hanging out in Italy. You might recall that last week, it was all about Southern Italy whereas this week, I went all the way up north to the Veneto region where the wines are very, very different though no less noteworthy. Phenomenal to think the range of wine that this very small country produces!

If you’re a regular reader of the blog, you’ll know that every week on Wednesday, I look forward to foraging through the shelves of my local liquor store, on a treasure hunt to hopefully uncover a cool and formerly unfamiliar wine to share with you!  

The special thing here is that if and when I find something good, it’s a wine that you too can actually purchase because it is readily available at the time of writing this blog post entry!  I love this because all too often, you read a review about a great wine and then can’t actually find it, which can be so annoying.  If you want to know more about why and how I do this, be sure to read this blog post where I outline my approach to my weekly Wine Wednesday picks.

Now I’d be remiss not to point out that because I’m located in Ontario, Canada and I buy my wines for the Wine of the Week feature from the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario).  

However, the wines I pick are generally widely available in most major markets and online too. So if you like what you read, you should be able to find the wine wherever you like to shop.  

For the convenience of readers who are located in Ontario, I always provide the LCBO Product Number, and a direct link to the LCBO website, in my reviews.

And with that, let’s get into this week’s pick!

2018 Monte del Fra Lena di Mezzo Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore

This week’s wine comes from the Veneto region of North East Italy. Northern Italy, especially the Veneto, produces a LOT of wine, most of it well known for quality and excellence both in Italy and international markets. Valpolicella is a wine that has many enthusiasts and for good reason. This week’s wine exemplifies why. Read on to learn what you need to know about this wine.

What does this wine cost?

$25.95/bottle.

Where does this wine come from?

As noted above, this wine comes from the Valpolicella area within the Veneto region of North East Italy. More specifically, this wine comes from the Valpolicella Classico area, which the histrorical centre of where Valpolicella was originally first made. Valpolicella Classico is a smaller area that is generally associated with higher quality.

Valpolicella as a region is situated more or less between the foothills of the Andes and Italy’s largest lake, Lake Garda, and enjoys a very diverse range of soils and an many micro-climates.

Valpolicella wine must be made from a blend of 4 indigenous grapes - Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella and Molinara.

Why is this wine unique?

Valpolicella Ripasso is made in a very unique way. Explained simply, standard Valpolicella wine is fermented with the leftover pumace from Amarone wine, which is a very rich and intense wine. The end outcome is a fresh and fruity wine that has some depth and complexity from the time it has spent fermenting on the skins of Amarone wine.

Further, as noted above, this wine comes from the “Classico” region i.e. the historical home of Valpolicella.

Lastly, the “Superiore” part denotes that the wine has been aged longer in bottle than usual, before being released to the market.

Who makes this wine?

Family owned, spread across 140 hectares, this beautiful estate is situated along the Lena river, in Lena di Mezzo.

The family owns multiple vineyards and has a serious eye on sustainable winemaking and vineyard management practices. Click here to learn more about the history behind Monte del Fra.

A few Wine Geek “essential facts” about the wine (feel free to skip this if you don’t care about detailed wine-making information!):

Variety - 80% Corvina/Corvinone, 20% Rondinella

Soil type - tufaceous, clay and limestone soils

In the field - max yield of 2 kg/vine

ABV - 14%

Residual Sugar - 8 g/L

My tasting notes:

This wine is light and lifted and yet spicy and edgy too. In the glass, this wine is a pale red and has a very light quality to it. On the nose, it smells of red fruits, forest floor and cinnamon and cloves. On the palate, the wine is bright with red cherry notes accompanied by rich cinnamon, vanilla and clove notes. There is a definite feel of oak in this wine, which does overshadow the fruit a bit unfortunately. The tannins are fine and the wine is medium bodied, with nice acidity.

Aging potential:

This wine is not meant to be aged.

Recommendations to Wineitupanotch:

Pair this wine with sausage pizza, lasagna or grilled chicken with oven roasted vegetables, especially root vegetables.

Wineitupanotch Wine Score: 89 points

This wine is a bit lighter than most Valpolicella Ripassos and a bit heavier on the oak notes. My palate wishes the oak was toned down a bit and the fruit was a bit jammier.

If you’re located in Ontario, and wish to purchase this wine, you can find it at the LCBO under Product #165662.

FINAL VERDICT:

A nice food-friendly wine overall. Not a bad option though this is definitely different from most Valpolicella Ripassos in my view. It has a little more of a Chianti vibe.

If you’ve tried this wine already, or decide to pick it up and try it after reading this post, I’d love to hear from you and hear what you think of it! Please do drop me a line.

Until next time, wishing you love, light and of course - good wine! :)

Cheers!

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