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Let’s do a blind tasting with four wines to see if Ripasso truly offers better value compared to Amarone della Valpolicella and whether we can really taste the difference between them.
**WINES I TASTED/FEATURED IN THIS VIDEO:
🍷Pra Morandina Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso, Veneto, Italy
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/cantina+pra+morandina+superior+ripass+valpolicella+veneto+italy/
🍷Ca’ La Bionda ‘Malavoglia’ Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso, Veneto, Italy
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/ca+la+bionda+malavoglia+cls+superior+ripass+valpolicella+veneto+italy/
🍷Pra Morandina Amarone della Valpolicella, Veneto, Italy
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/cantina+pra+morandina+amarone+della+valpolicella+veneto+italy/
🍷Bertani Ripasso Valpolicella, Veneto, Italy
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/bertani+ripass+valpolicella+veneto+italy/
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**CONTENTS OF THIS VIDEO:
0:00 Amarone vs Ripasso
4:44 The Tasting
12:13 The Reveal
#winetasting #wineeducation #wine
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
33 Comments
Hi Agnes, thank you for such interesting comparison. Please try Speri Amarone vs. Ripasso, both are great examples.
Another informative and educational video. I really enjoy these blind tasting episodes, because I appreciate your straight forward comments about the wine in the bottle and not the label. At half the price of Amarone (USA), I have had some really enjoyable Ripasso wines making them good values. I love Amarone and try not to compare it to Ripasso as I find the two quite distinct. I look forward to your next episode. Please more blind tastings in the future!
Loved the video again, great stuff! Agnese, did you know which four wines were in the tasting beforehand?
Dear Agnes, thanks again for sharing a bit of italian wine culture all a round y audience. Btw i visited Valpolicella last year and i have appreciated Tommasi And Speri the most. Bertani Is the huge name and they told me this maison started the concept of Amarone First back in the day…. At last i visited Collina dei ciliegi which offer a fresher style of Valpolicella wine due to High elevation of their winards.. everyone shall visit this region which Is close ti Trento doc and Valdobbiadene 😊🍾🥂
Hi Agnes, I tried the valpolicella classico by Ca la bionda and I found it really representative of the Valpolicella lighter style, really pleasant wine. Never tried their ripasso yet.
Your first valpolicella video was how i first discovered your channel 🙂
I love ripasso but amarones place is different. Ripasso is great for a casual evening but amarone is for celebration.
I have recently got a dal forno romano 2016 and am patiently waiting for the next 10 years to pass.
Just leaving a comment to help with the YT algorithm. But since I'm here, let me also tell you that you've been in my top 3 of wine youtubers for a while now. Keep up the good work!
Great video. I came to the same conclusion after visiting Valpolicella last year: All three are (very) different wines. Also: a well made Amarone can be fresh and lively, especially the ones from the vineyards that are higher in altitude vs the floor of the valley.
Totally agree with your summary, Amarone is something special in a category of its own ❤
This video reminded me of the 1st time I ever tasted an Amarone, it was on my honeymoon in 2016 passing by Rome and we went to a wine bar by the Pantheon. It was one of the biggest revelations in my wine life. It was a Zenato Amarone. I say to my friends that this is the definitive Old world's answer to New world wines.
Great video! I often feel the beautifully distinct “Corvina spice” as I call it is lost once the grapes are dried. I love the Asian spices of cumin and cardamom in some valpos. Another option I recommend to my restaurant guests who are looking for value is a Passimento instead of a Ripasso where the grapes are only dried for 30-45 days
Such a great Ripasso video Agnese. ❤❤ so informative
Excellent work
If you are talking about value I would like to recommend that you try the excellent drops from Carla Bionda more closely. We spend 2023 our time at the vinery and have had a good time with the wine maker. Lot to talk and to taste. I was impressed about his passion and his top products. Cheers 🍷
Totally appreciate the honest and up front conclusion. I've never had a ripasso, but I'm not a fan of the concept as you described. As always, thanks for tasting something so I don't have to 😅🍷👍
Work in a winery to understand what you are tasting.
Bravo, very good advice indeed.
Hi Agnese, Thank you for a highly informative video. I was wondering if instead of going the Ripasso route, you chose the category "Valpolicella Classico Superiore" would you have a better chance of finding really premium quality, without going to an "official" Amarone? I was thinking that if the Veronese producers can deliver great quality from "Soave Classico", as they have recently, maybe they could do the same or better for their "Valpolicella Classico Superiore". Cheers!
Ahhh My favourite wine region, the Valpolicellas. In my opinion, its very hard to a ripasso which we can call it baby amarone because most doesnt taste as similar to Amarone. Unlike Brunello and Rosso Montalcino, it taste 'almost' the same.
Back to the Valpolicellas, i have tried many ripasso only 2 i woule nane it as baby amarone. First, Masi Campofiorin D'oro and Second, La Casetta Domini Veneti ( they use reciotto and amarone left over).
As for Amarone, i reerve it as special occasion with special friends. My top favourite is Corte Aleardi Amarone Riserva 2009 ( pre-Docg). I have tried their ripasso but not good. Masi's Amarone Serego Alighieri is also good.
Hope my review with contribute some discussion.
I would argue that the colder climate and producers wanted to stretch the production to the maximum…. As economy many times is king, likewise many old varieties was taken out of production due to low yields…. In the warmer climate, I hope producers are careful not to make over extracted plump wines, which was the case for quite some time… amarone can be amazing, but it is not a given…. Had way too many that was just to warm, alcoholic and unbalanced.. cheers ❤
Quite a surprise, during FIVI a couple of years ago, wine nr 2 was one I picked out as quite good, wonder if vintage plays a role…..
Hi Agnese, you are right about Ripasso from my experience.
However I have another tip for those enjoying "Amarone" style wines, but want to stay on a buget: look for "apassimento" style wines in the Valpolicella area. They are usually labeled something like "Rosso Veronese IGT" . Usually all good Amarone houses have at least one on their portfolio. These wines are in my opinion the true gems of the area because they offer a great price/quality ration due to:
– sometimes less percentage of appasimento grapes in the blend
– shorter drying stages of appasiomento grapes, shorter barrel exposure / bottle maturation
– Winemakes can get here REALLY creative ( it's their playground ) with the blend due to not being respricted to Amarone and Ripasso regulatory bodies.
– No "recycling" process 😉
Me an my wife love lake Garda, and always take time for a quick detour in Valpolicella. In these trying economic times, these blend offer an excellent value.
Great blind tasting as always. I love to guess along with you just on your thoughts and explanations. 😊 keep it up Agnese, great work 👍🏻
I enjoy Ripasso, glad you featured it. Bertani tends to always be a winner
I still have a couple of bottles of recioto which I bring to special dining occasions. Your break down of first to find a great Valpolicella before you dig deep and splurge on their Amarones is great one. A friend of mine sometimes, when he's in a hurry only tastes the table wine rosés of a winemaker and if that is pretty good, then he'll try the rest.
In Sweden, the terms "mini-amarone", "baby amarone" etc. used to be in ads for ripasso wines, this is now prohibited. But "ripasso" on the label of a wine now has such a strong marketing power, that in any of the monopoly's stores there's always quite a large section of ripasso: wines tasting of dried fruit and spices, with soft tannins and some residual sugar. Then there is the "appassimento" wines, IIUC an unregulated term which can be found on wines from anywhere in Italy, and then comes anything similar sounding: "appassionato", "passione", "passicone", "doppio passo", "passivento", etc. etc, all made in a similar style.
Of course there are real wines somewhere amongst all this, but the way these wines are marketed and sold here makes it hard for me to take this whole category of wines seriously. 🙄
Great video. I know understand the differences and why some people like (or not) Ripasso. I think amarone is worth the mark-up and valpolicella classico superiore is great too
Cool. Great post. I know very little about these wines. Thanks, A! Closest I ever drank to these was a Palazzo Della Torre
I bet that Agnese would easily pick out the Amarone. I win.
(PS: In the "language advice you didn't ask for" series: Overhyped is a tautology. Meaning you're saying the same thing twice since to hype is to go over. There is no such thing as a balanced exaggeration. You're either over, or you're not. So it should simply be; hyped).
Amarone 🎉
I love the videos you have been making lately, Agnese, this one in particular. It was very educational, you corrected a basic misunderstanding I had about what "ripasso" means. I enjoyed several wines labeled ripasso on a recent trip to Venice, but am still looking forward to my first amarone. I feel well prepared by this video. Thank you!
I love Zenato Valpolicella Ripasso. Never tried Amarone but if Ripasso isnanything to go by, I'll have to keep an eye open for a nice bottle.
Fully agree with your assessment of these 2 wines. I am biased here seeing as I adore amarone but ripasso is sometimes very pleasing but I definitely do not put them on the same plate. Amarone is yes more expensive but some of them (in my opinion) are some of the best wines on the planet (quintarelli, dal Forno) which you will never find with a ripasso. Great video as always. Love these tastings. Keep them coming!!!!