2015 Secondo Marco Ripasso Valpolicella Classico Superiore 750 ml

It’s a classic story in the world of wine: an incredibly talented winemaker makes a name working for a famous producer, but then develops the itch to create something more personal.

That’s what happened to Marco Speri. His family has been turning out traditionally styled wines in the hills of Valpolicella for seven generations. They’ve won awards from Gambero Rosso, and Marco’s father, Benedetto, helped create some of the region’s very first Amarone. Marco followed in his footsteps, working in the family business for 25 years, but in 2008 he decided to establish his own brand: Secondo Marco.

He wanted the bottles from this label to stand out from the rich, weighty offerings synonymous with Valpolicella, so he focused instead on crafting elegant, food-friendly wines with higher acidity, lower alcohol, and less residual sugar. By emphasizing drinkability above all, he ended up with a very personal—and very delicious—interpretation of the Valpolicella region.

Ripasso wines start their lives as regular Valpolicella Superiore blends, but then undergo a second fermentation by adding the skins of the dried grapes used to make Amarone. The Secondo Marco Ripasso follows this playbook, but takes measures to keep the wines light: The grapes ferment in stainless-steel tanks with indigenous yeasts (and at low temperatures) in order to preserve fresh-fruit character and fragrance. The wine then ages in cement for about five months before the re-fermentation.
The result is a wine that’s the perfect intermediary between Valpolicella and Amarone, offering the former’s juicy acidity with a bit of the latter’s figgy luxuriance. Outstanding with the region’s signature cured meats and creamy risottos, this ripasso is also the perfect partner for a hearty pasta e fagiole.