Country: Italy Region: Veneto Varietal: Corvina - Amarone Style  Vintage: 2017 Colour: Red  Style:Dry Producer: Cantina Valpantena Description: The Torre del Falasco wines are the standard bearers of this co-operative, situated in the Valpantena, northeast of Verona... Known as the ’valley of god’ to the ancient Greeks, this area is well-known for its high quality red wines, due partly to the soils but also because of the cool breeze that blows down the valley from the foothills of the Dolomites.  Run by Luca Degani since 1995, the Cantina di Valpantena is now one of Italy’s best co-operatives, with 700 hectares of vineyard producing excellent quality fruit.  Matt Thomson makes some of the Alpha Zeta wines here and has worked closely with them since 1999.  Vineyards The grapes for the Valpolicella Ripasso are grown on the steeply terraced hillside vineyards belonging to the co-operative, where soils are chalky and poor.  The wine is a blend of two traditional Valpolicella varieties.  Vintage information The 2016 winter in the Veneto was very cold, with temperatures below the annual average but fortunately without periods of intense and prolonged frost. The spring, despite some particularly warm days, was unusually wet with monthly rainfall up to three times the average. Summer weather, with warm temperatures and a lack of rain, allowed optimal maturation of the grapes whilst maintaining excellent fruit character. Vinification On arrival at the winery, the grapes were destemmed and crushed then fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks at 22-28°C. Maceration lasted ten days.  Once fermentation was complete, a second fermentation took place on the skins of the Amarone Torre del Falasco in the traditional `ripasso` method.  The wine remained in large oak barrels until bottling.  Tasting Notes Aromas of dried cherry and dark plums are followed by hints of mocha and dark chocolate on the nose. A powerful, full-bodied palate opens with a spiced fruit character and supportive tannins. Raisin and candied peel notes come from the ‘ripasso‘ method and are layered with rounded, ripe cherry flavours. The finish is long with added spicy nutmeg notes. Food Matches: Red Meat, Turkey, Pizza, Pasta