Jazz musician Colin Kingwell enjoys music and good wine and has a real passion for Valpolicella, the Italian red he has grown to love after frequent visits to his niece Melanie’s home near Verona in the heart of Valpol country.
At a recent tasting in Colin’s cosy Chorleywood kitchen, with outdoor temperatures well below freezing, our wine expert Wackus Bachus put Colin’s selections of Amarone Della Valpolicella and Ripasso up against quality competition from M&S and Waitrose.
The verdict?
SIMPLE VALPOLICELLA
Valpolicella Valpanteno 2014, 12.5%, M&S, £8 (Basic entry level)
Refreshing, juicy everyday drinking red.
Medium weight with clean, bitter cherry aroma and a lick of chocolate powder.
VALPOLICELLA RIPASSO
Valpolicella Ripasso 2013, DOC Valpenta, 13.5%, M&S, £9.50
A notch up – finely balanced and elegant.
Deeper, darker colour and a complex prune and dark chocolate on the nose. A full bodied concentrated palate with a long smooth porty end.
Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore 2013,14.5%, Waitrose, £11.99
More traditional in character.
Deep, dark colour, slight leathery and herbal nose, mellow with a touch of dried prunes. A long, smooth, sweet finish with apparent tannins.
Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore 2013 Fabiano (Colin’s choice, Brothers Wines)
Another traditional style Ripasso,
Classic garnet appearance with leather/wood shavings aroma and a soft rounded palate. Lingering nutmeg and mandarin crisp finish.
AMARONE
Amarone Classico Cantina di Negrar 2012,15%, Waitrose, £19.99
Intense and dark – Traditional yet elegant
Complex fine red wine, with layers of flavour and leather, truffle and smoke aromas. Rich and sweet combining purity with abundant fruit and minerals.
Amarone della Valpolicella Villalta 2012,15%, M&S, £25
Fine red, powerful yet refined.
Single vineyard wine that feels hand-crafted. Aromas combine tar with light floral violet. Savoury and sweet layers of flavour and terrific texture. Belies the hefty 15% alcohol
La Collina dei Ciliegt 2010,14.5%, (via Colin bought at Laithwaites)
One for traditional purists. Great with food or as alternative to a post meal port.
Just 5yrs old but developed. A very expressive nose bursting forth, plummy and leather combination follows through to the rich concentrated palate, matured and delicate, with soothing semi-sweet finish.
VALPOL –QUICK GUIDE
The Trend:
A few decades ago no Trattoria worth its Parma ham and melon would be without Valpollicella or its white equivalent, Soave but Italian wine enthusiasts then immersed themselves in the reds of Tuscany and Piedmont and big, bold New World wines. But Valpolicella has made a comeback, led by premium top end reds.
The Wines:
Amarone;
While the light fruity ordinary Valpolicella is harvested in late September, grapes for Amarone are harvested about one month later, dried for 3 months, then crushed and fermented, resulting in a rich, concentrated, much fuller (and more alcoholic!) red. These wines need a little time to age in oak casks to reach their potential.
Ripasso;
Take a normally picked, and fermented red and then add the residue (grape skins and pumice) from the Amarone in February and re-ferment. The resultant wine is a halfway house between the light and simple style and big, blockbuster Amarone. (I prefer the balance of this lower alcohol compromise but many aficionados love sipping the port-like real thing).
Wackus Bachus
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