Happy Saturday! It's been a rather mellow start to the weekend, with running errands and hanging out a bit with some friends, now I'm ready for a warm dinner and a nice glass of wine. Tonight I've decided to take a bit of a spicy route to my meal, and with that I've opened a bottle of wine I recently bought from Wines Till Sold Out. The 2018 Tenuta Gugi Valpolicella Ripasso, a wine that offers many of the flavors and boldness of an Amarone without the price. This wine is a blend of Corvina (60%), Corvinone (20%), Rondinella (15%) and Oseleta (5%) which undergoes a second fermentation with the Amarone skins (e.g. ripasso!). So, let's see how this wine is tasting!
The wine is a deep ruby color in the glass, as you might expect from a nice Amarone. A gentle swirl in the glass releases aromas of leather, blackberry and Kirsch with undertones of hearty spice. Take a sip and you are greeted with a rush of earthy mineral notes intermingled with ripe cherry and plum that just engages your palate before transitioning to some cherry cola an peppery spice notes midpalate. The tannins are somewhat sweet with lively structure providing for a wonderfully velvety dry finish that lingers for a minute or more.
Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, even though it might benefit from a few more years in the cellar, it was also a solid value at just $14. This wine would pair with many classic Italian dishes from risotto and pasta to hearty fire grilled steaks with farro. Tonight I am taking a rather spicy route with this wine as I happened to find some very nice Hungarian hot peppers at my local market which would be great sautéed with onions and Italian sausage, served with a bit of pasta tossed with garlic and olive oil and topped with shredded Parmesan. Cheers!
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