'R' Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso, Alpha Zeta

by Alpha Zeta

Alpha Zeta was started in 1999 when Liberty Wines set out to produce a range of modern, fruit-driven wines from the hills outside Verona. Working with leading New Zealand winemaker, Matt Thomson, their aim was to work with growers (rather than buy bulk wine, which is standard among most wines from Verona at this price) to obtain ripe grapes (by reducing yields and picking later) and then, using Matt's expertise, preserve these flavours in the finished wines. The result is a realization of the potential inherent in Veronese viticulture.

This wine is made using a traditional Veronese practice known as "ripasso". Traditionally, the young wine was re-fermented on the skins of the Amarone grapes once they had finished fermenting in March. The new, more expensive approach is to ferment the young wine together with dried grapes in the January following the vintage, giving the wine more body and depth. This blend of modern and traditional winemaking produces a wine with a combination of freshness, structure and depth that is fairly rare among Ripasso wines. Following fermentation, the wine is aged for just over a year in a mixture of large oak and small, French oak barrels prior to bottling.

Ruby red in colour, this Ripasso opens with a concentrated nose full of aromas of red fruits and dried cherries. Full-bodied on the palate, it shows lovely balance between an opulent cherry-pie character and supple structure. The finish is long with a mouthwatering bitter-cherry twist.

• Grape varieties: 75% Corvina; 20% Rondinella/Corvinone; 5% Corvinone
• Closure: Natural cork
• Abv 13.5%
• Acidity: 5.75 g/l
• Residual sugar: 6 g/l
• pH: 3.4