Tedeschi San Rocco Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso 2016
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Strong ruby red in color, this wine offers fresh, complex aromas of cherry, raspberry and red currant. On the palate, it is fruity, well-balanced and well-structured. Alcohol and acidity are in good harmony -- and the flavors confirm the character of the bouquet.
Pair with red meat, game and cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A Valpolicella Ripasso that effortlessly combines ripeness and elegance. Fine blackberries, ripe plums and cocoa powder on the nose. The bright acidity and the supple tannins are beautifully integrated on the palate. Long and silky, dry finish
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Wine Spectator
Loaded with aromatic herb and spiced orange notes that accent the baked black cherry and plum fruit, this expressive red is medium- to full-bodied and lightly chewy, with sage, rosemary and smoke details wafting on the finish. Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella and Rossignola.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso Capitel San Rocco shows great dark fruit intensity, spread over a rich mid-weight style. I found the breezes of rosemary essence and eucalyptus oil to be very distinctive and nice. It's the perfect choice for roasted lamb with garlic and rosemary potatoes, and it's a great value too, thanks to the 100,000 bottles made. This wine was first produced in 1976, and the Tedeschi family was among the first to use the Ripasso method in Valpolicella in its commercial winemaking. Rating: 90+
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Nicolò Tedeschi founded the company that bears his name in the Valpolicella area in 1824. He was a genuine personality of his time, renowned for his skill and moral stature. Throughout the years, his family has continued the traditional wine-making process, and today, the winery is owned by the fifth generation of Tedeschis: Antonietta, Sabrina and Riccardo. Each has various responsibilities, but it is Riccardo, the oenologist, who deals with production and acts as Tedeschi's Export Director.
Tedeschi utilizes two traditional winemaking techniques almost as old as winemaking itself. Amarone della Valpolicella is the only mainstream style where the wines are fermented to dryness, yielding deeply colored and concentrated wines, rich in character, and often rich in alcohol, too. The ripasso method, utilizing the drained but unpressed must of an Amarone, provides some kick to a more basic wine and is also unique to the region.
Each of Tedeschi’s wines must not only be as good as possible, but also as personal as it can be. Each has its own style and a clearly distinguishable character—the genuine “Tedeschi Trademark.” In order to achieve this objective, the family monitors every phase of the wine-making process, from the vineyard to the cellar, without ever trying to substitute nature or its laws in any way.
With hundreds of red grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended red wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged resulting in a wide variety of red wine styles. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a red wine blend variety that creates a fruity and full-bodied wine would do well combined with one that is naturally high in acidity and tannins. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
How to Serve Red Wine
A common piece of advice is to serve red wine at “room temperature,” but this suggestion is imprecise. After all, room temperature in January is likely to be quite different than in August, even considering the possible effect of central heating and air conditioning systems. The proper temperature to aim for is 55° F to 60° F for lighter-bodied reds and 60° F to 65° F for fuller-bodied wines.
How Long Does Red Wine Last?
Once opened and re-corked, a bottle stored in a cool, dark environment (like your fridge) will stay fresh and nicely drinkable for a day or two. There are products available that can extend that period by a couple of days. As for unopened bottles, optimal storage means keeping them on their sides in a moderately humid environment at about 57° F. Red wines stored in this manner will stay good – and possibly improve – for anywhere from one year to multiple decades. Assessing how long to hold on to a bottle is a complicated science. If you are planning long-term storage of your reds, seek the advice of a wine professional.
Among the ranks of Italy’s quintessential red wines, Valpolicella literally translates to the “valley of cellars” and is composed of a series of valleys (named Fumane, Marano and Negrare) that start in the pre-alpine Lissini Mountains and end in the southern plains of the Veneto. Here vineyards adorn the valley hillsides, rising up to just over 1,300 feet.
The classification of its red wines makes this appellation unique. Whereas most Italian regions claim the wines from one or two grapes as superior, or specific vineyards or communes most admirable, Valpolicella ranks the caliber of its red wines based on delimited production methods, and every tier uses the same basic blending grapes.
Corvina holds the most esteem among varieties here and provides the backbone of the best reds of Valpolicella. Also typical in the blends, in lesser quantities, are Rondinella, Molinara, Oseleta, Croatina, Corvinone and a few other minor red varieties.
Valpolicella Classico, the simplest category, is where the region’s top values are found and resembles in style light and fruity Beaujolais. The next tier of reds, called Valpolicella Superiore, represents a darker and more serious and concentrated expression of Valpolicella, capable of pairing with red meat, roast poultry and hard cheeses.
Most prestigious in Valpolicella are the dry red, Amarone della Valpolicella, and its sweet counterpart, Recioto della Valpolicella. Both are created from harvested grapes left to dry for three to five months before going to press, resulting in intensely rich, lush, cerebral and cellar-worthy wines.
Falling in between Valpolicella Superiore and Amarone is a style called Valpolicella Ripasso, which has become immensely popular only since the turn of the century. Ripasso literally means “repassed” and is made by macerating fresh Valpolicella on the pressed grape skins of Amarone. As a result, a Ripasso will have more depth and complexity compared to a regular Superiore but is more approachable than an Amarone.