Tedeschi Capitel San Rocco Valpolicella Ripasso DOC Superiore

Tedeschi Capitel San Rocco Valpolicella Ripasso DOC Superiore is made using the ancient Ripasso wine-making technique, a method typical of the Veronese region. 

The Tedeschi Family wine business can trace their roots back to 1824 when Nicolo Tedeschi purchased several vineyards (although the family have records of owning vineyards back to 1630). A descendant, Riccardo Tedeschi, purchased vineyards in 1918 which included Monte Fontana and their famous Amarone vineyard, Monte Olmi. Today Tedeschi remains a family business and, through a combination of tradition and innovation, is one of the foremost wineries, and one of the top producers of Amarone and Recioto wines, in the Veneto region. The family manages 74 hectares of vineyards, of which 29 are family owned. Amarone della Valpolicella is considered to be the most prestigious wine of the Veneto region. Most recently the family have further invested in the new vineyard sites of La Fabriseria in Pontare and Maternigo in the Eastern part of Valpolicella.

The grapes used to make Tedeschi Capitel San Rocco Valpolicella Ripasso are sourced the Marne Biance vineyard in Tedeschi’s Maternigo estate. The soils here are moraine clay and limestone of moraine origin. The grape varieties used are 35% Corvina, 35% Corvinone, 20% Rondinella and 10% comprised of Rossignola, Oseleta, Negrara and Dindarella. The Ripasso method basically means that the wine is fermented on the grape skins of the Tedeschi Amarone from the previous vintage. This process introduces some of the character of the Amarone into the Ripasso wine. The grapes are harvested at the end of September or beginning of October, destemmed and crushed, the wine then undergoes the initial alcoholic fermentation for around 15 days at 28c. Then there is a slow secondary fermentation on the Amarone skins for 8 to 15 days at 18c. The wine is aged in Slavonian oak barrels for 1 or 2 years prior to bottling and a further 6 months in bottle prior to release.