Wednesday, January 22, 2014

2010 Luigi Righetti VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO SUPERIORE RIPASSO "Campolieti" (Veneto, Italy)

This was really good.  Mouthwatering acids balanced nicely by beautifully ripe fruit.  I really liked the 2009 of this wine, and this is just as good if not a bit better.

Vivid dark ruby color.  Nose took a while to open up, but eventually yielded inviting scents of ripe mixed berries, ripe plums, fruitcake, and a wee bit of earthiness.  Very crisp, but ripe and smooth in the mouth.  Just a pure pleasure to drink.  Medium full body, the antithesis of heavy, but with nice concentration of ripe, winey plums and blackberry.  Long, pure-tasting finish.  This is a great choice with any tomatoey Italian pasta or braise.  Will last at least 2-3 years and maybe longer. Was $15.99 at Trader Joe's at Bailey's Crossroads.  A-.  Imported by Prestige Wine Imports, NYC.

2 comments:

CaitlynA said...

This is the second value-priced Ripasso I have seen in the DC area. I recently has the 2010 Santi Solane Classico Superiore Valpolicella Ripasso (bought at Pearson's for $13.95. It, too, was medium body. Its flavor was dark cherry and plum, a little of an amount of bitterness (added to complexity without detracting from the attractiveness) and the acidity leaned more sour than tart, which made it great for Italian style meals. I agree that it is an excellent food wine to match the foods of the region - or elsewhere as I tried it with bee and bean chili and found it a good match. I'd lean more to matching it with meet dishes than tomato sauces. I would give it a B+, but that is because I have four bottles of 2008 Allegrini Palazza della Torre that I picked up for $11.00 at World market closeout. (also, with the help of a vacu-vin, the wine kept its quality over three days of sipping)

Thank you for investing the time to post your wine reviews. I really appreciate the variety of wines you write about and and your comments about them.

Angelo said...

Have it at table and vine for 17.99