Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore "Saustò"

2019
Italy
Veneto

40% Corvina/30% Corvinone/20% Rondinella/10% Oseleta & Molinara. Saustò comes from the same core estate vineyard as the Saseti Valpolicella Classico and the La Stropa Amarone: pergola-trained, co-planted, biodynamically farmed vines of only traditional varieties averaging around 25 years old. The fruit for both Saseti and Saustò is harvested by hand in 20-25 small lots which are vinified separately. Each lot is destemmed and fermented spontaneously with native yeasts and without sulfur in steel and concrete tanks. Most of this wine becomes the briefly-tank-aged Saseti, but in certain vintages, the best, most concentrated lots are carved out to become Saustò. After primary fermentation with a 10-12-day maceration, pressings from the previous vintage's dried-grape recioto are added to the wine for about a week, inducing a refermentation and lending Saustò a more layered, complex character. The wine is aged in old 25-hectoliter botti for 6 months and in bottle for 8 more months. Since Monte dall'Ora is terroir- rather than process-focused, the word ripasso appears on the back label only.

93 points
"The 2019 Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso Saustò takes its time opening in the glass but is worth the wait, as hints of chalk dust and cedar give way to exotic spice and pepper-tinged tart cherry. This splashes across the palate, juicy, almost playful at first, yet with a core of intense wild berry fruits and minerals that slowly saturate. It finishes structured and long, still in a primary stage yet bursting at the seams, leaving black raspberry and clove to resonate through the slightly chewy finale. The 2019 Saustò will need some time to blossom fully but is packed full of potential."
Eric Guido,
Vinous Media
March 2023

SKU/Code: 
DB8394-19
Product Line: 
Wine
Red
Varietal: 
Corvina blend
Farming Type: 
Biodynamic