LE RAGOSE VALPOLICELLA RIPASSO CLASSICO 2017

The fruit is hand-picked and fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks with indigenous yeasts for 12-14 days, then re-fermented for 7 days in March on the lees of the Amarone using the ripasso method. The Amarone lees and skins contain sugars and re-fermentation absorbs about 10% of Amarone, giving the wine more aromatic complexity while maintaining Valpolicella’s lighter mouthfeel. For Superiore designation, the wine ages one year in steel, two years in 25-hectoliter Slavonian oak casks and refined in bottle for one year before release.

Le Ragose Valpolicella is produced from estate vineyards sitting above 1200 feet in elevation. The vineyards are ideally situated with a south-west exposure and soils of clay and magnesium, calcium and iron based gravel.