Hello! Let’s talk a little bit about the Valpolicella wines and finish the post tasting the Mazzi Valpolicella Classico Superiore Sanperetto 2012.
Informally, Valpolicella is considered the Italian answer to the French Beaujolais in terms of style. The Valpolicella region, situated in the northwest of Verona, close to the Lake Garda, produces some of the most famous and respected Italian wines. There are three main zones: Valpolicella Classico, which wines are more austere and warm; Valpantena with its fresh and elegant wines and, at last, Eastern Valpolicella with offers more fruity and herbaceous wines.
In 1968, came instituted the Valpolicella DOC standard – Denominazione di Origine Controlata – recognizing the reputation of these wines. It means that all wine produced in the zone must respect some procedures in order to keep the high quality stabilished and the particularities of the product, as a maximum amount of 1.2 tons of grape collected for hectare, for example.
In this way, it must be a blend of three different types of grape. Corvina Veronese, the base of the blend composing up to 70%, is a native red grape with low grade of tannin, high acidity and a characteristic flavor of cherries. These thick and dark skin grapes comes in a medium size bunches and are cultivated in ripes, vertical fences in which the plant grows and tends to create a kind of roof with the grape bunches hanging.
The second variety is Rondinella, up to 15% in the amount, another native grape full of yeld, gives some herbal notes to the blend. The third type is Molinara, 15% maximum of the blend, a light-body grape with high grades of acidity and oxidization. It is used to flesh out the blend but is less used because its light color. Sometimes, the producer can also use the Corvinona grape, quite similar to Corvina, and other grapes as Negrara, Bigolona and Oseleta.
These valleys seems to house grapes since before man learned how to produce wine. One reason is about the climatical conditions in which every valley offers a corridor from the fresh alpine wind to the plain zone in a way to cooler the hot sunny days between the growing cycle. Another good reason is the presence of a calcareous ground with a limestone and basalt basis, suppling all nutrients necessary to the plants. Grapes enjoys the combination of these elements what make easier the work of the winemaker.
So, there are four different appelations: Valpolicella DOC, Valpolicella Ripasso DOCG, Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG and Recioto della Valpolicella DOCG. In the first category, there are the distincted Valpolicella Classico, meaning the product from the storic zone (as Chianti Classico) and Valpolicella Superiore, which wine was aged at least 1 year. The production is around of 37% of Valpolicella, 40% of Ripasso, 22% of Amarone and only 1% of Recioto. In the year of 2012, it was produced more than 60 millions bottles of wine.
Valpolicella Classico and its brother Superiore are basically the same product described above. The main difference between them is the higher alcoholic graduation, up to 12%, of Superiore due to the ageing of a year. It necessarily must be produced in the zone of the 5 counties of Sant’Ambrogio di Valpolicella, Fumane, San Pietro in Cariano, Marano di Valpolicella e Negrar.
Ripasso is the very same dry, full bodied and soft fruit wine with a second fermentation with the skins of Amarone grapes and then aged 12 months in oak barrel.
Amarone is a dry, structured, elegant and velvety wine, characteristics that make it the most famous wine from Veneto. Ruby red colored with garnet highlights. Made from dried Corvina, Corvinone, Oseleta, Negrara and Rondinella grapes, by using the old technique of “appassimento” (dry process) that takes at least 120 days, losing about 40% of the water. Traditionally the grapes were dried on straw mats in the warmest part of the house or winery, but today it is used straw with steel and lofts with pallets.The fermentation process takes more 60 days in steel vats with natural yeasts and then aged for 24 months in oak barrel and more 12 in the bottles.
Recioto is basically the same Amarone wine. It is the most traditional Veronese wine which gave birth Amarone and one of the oldest of the Italian wines. Recioto is a dessert wine with a red intense purple colour, velvety, warm with cherry flavour. It gets the same drying method for 4 months keeping much of the sugar in the process.
Finally, let’s enjoy what we really like: the wine! The first bottle we tasted from the Mazzi winery is a fine Classico Superiore Sanperetto 2012.
It is a Valpolicella made with 65% Corvina and 5% Corvinone in the zone of San Peretto, in Negrar valley.The fermentation with yeast occurs for a week in stainless steel vats and an ageing process of a year in oak barrels.
It is a beautiful dark opaque ruby drink with intense sweet notes of dark berries and cherries. I also could feel wood. It really causes good impression.
Then, with the first sip comes the dry and the characteristic bitter taste of these wines. A full body with not so intense tannins and all that acidity we spoke before. It is a fresh wine, not too much light. I would say equilibrated. In the end, we can feel the fruits, spicy and bitter. The alcohol can be felt too although it is a 13% soft wine.
Fits well with roosted red meat, white meat and cheese. Found a lot of good reviews of this wine in Vivino app ranking more than 4 stars. The price of 10 euro is fair enough.
Yes, Valpolicella is so cool!
bravovino 