2015 San Rustico Amarone della Valpolicella Classico

Happy Sunday!  It's been a slow, rainy day here, though I managed a couple hours between raindrops to remove some fencing temporarily in anticipation of a tree removal tomorrow morning.  But now I'm back inside, finishing laundry and making Sunday dinner.  For tonight's festivities, I've opened a bottle of a perennial favorite Italian variety that I recently bought from Wines Till Sold Out.  The 2015 San Rustico Amarone della Valpolicella Classico is a blend of Corvina and Corvinone (68%), Rondinella (27%) and Molinara (5%), dried for three months before pressing.  So, let's see how this wonderful and interesting wine is shaping up!

The wine is a deep ruby color in the glass, with nice clarity.  A gentle swirl of the glass releases aromas of black cherry, kirsch and warm spices, with undertones of smoke and earthy loam.  Take a sip and your senses make and abrupt turn with a rush of sweet ripe cherry, blackberry and prune that very gradually evolves into some white pepper spice and bit of charred oak.  The tannins are nicely structured for the long, smooth dry finish with a reprise of spice notes on the very end.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, as it's just a very pleasant drinking wine and it was a great value at just $30.  This wine would be perfect with steaks or game meat, such as bison, elk or lamb, as well as smoky barbecue.  Tonight I've taken a different approach and am enjoying this wine with some bucatini with mussels fra diavalo, as the spice and acidity of the sauce marries well with the up-front sweetness of this wine.  Cheers!

2016 Giuseppe Campagnola Valpolicella Ripasso

Happy Sunday!  Sometimes on a Sunday, you just need to open a wine from Italy, and after spending the afternoon working around the house on various projects and finishing with yard work, I am in need of a nice Italian Wine!  Tonight I've opened a bottle of 2016 Giuseppe Campagnola Valpolicella Ripasso that I bought from Wines Till Sold Out a few months back.  I am a big fan of Amarone, and for a more affordable alternative, I love a good Valpolicella Ripasso, or the second pressing of the dried grapes used for Amarone.  This wine is a classic blend of Corvina (60%), Rondinella (35%) and Molinara (5%).  So let's see how this one tastes.

The wine is a wonderful deep ruby color in the glass.  The nose presents aromas of blueberry, currant, and cherry with hints of rosehip and graphite.  The taste is very fruit forward with a rush of cherry, blueberry and currant that transitions nicely to notes of tar and pomegranate midpalate.  The tannins are well integrated, with balanced acidity to drive the long, lush and wonderfully dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, it's a pleasant drinking and food friendly wine that's also q solid value at just $15!  This wine would be wonderful with a creamy risotto, or pasta with cream sauce as the acidity of this wine would be an ideal balance.  It would also pair well with lamb, wild game or a classic well-marbled steak as the fruit and acidity would be great to cut through the fattiness of a prime steak, which is great since tonight I'm enjoying this wine with a grilled prime ribcap along with grilled romanesco and a big baked potato with all the trimmings.  Cheers!