Bertani Valpolicella Ripasso Valpantena 2021: Dark Cherries, Chocolate and a Welcome Dose of Restraint
Valpolicella Ripasso has a peculiar talent for excess. The second fermentation on Amarone grape skins can turn an agile, fragrant red into a heavy, sugary monster, packed with chocolate and overripe fruit. Bertani’s 2021 takes a more disciplined route. It is generous, dark and seductive, certainly, but there is still a recognisable Valpolicella beneath all that richness.
Black cherries, sour cherry preserve and cocoa give the wine its immediate appeal. Then come a sharper currant note, earthy spice and a lively streak of acidity that prevents the palate from sinking beneath its own weight.
At roughly €16, this is a persuasive Ripasso: fleshy enough to satisfy lovers of powerful reds, yet sufficiently fresh to make a second glass an attractive proposition.
The Basics
- Producer: Bertani
- Wine: Valpolicella Ripasso Valpantena
- Vintage: 2021
- Appellation: Valpolicella Ripasso DOC
- Region: Veneto, Italy
- Production area: Valpantena, near Verona
- Grapes: 85% Corvina Veronese, 10% Merlot, 5% Rondinella
- Soils: Marl, limestone, clay and basalt
- Vine age: Approximately 15–20 years
- Training: Guyot and pergola
- Vinification: Second fermentation on Amarone grape skins
- Ageing: Large oak barrels and concrete vats
- Bottle maturation: Three months
- Alcohol: 13.5% ABV
- Bottle size: 750 ml
- Serving temperature: 14–16°C
Bertani and the Hills of Valpantena
Founded in 1857 by brothers Gaetano and Giovan Battista Bertani, the winery belongs to the aristocracy of Veronese wine. Its reputation rests particularly on traditional Amarone, but the company’s history also includes a long commitment to the lighter, more fragrant reds of Valpolicella.
This distinction matters. Amarone may attract the collectors, but everyday Valpolicella remains one of northern Italy’s most appealing red wines when producers resist the temptation to make everything taste like dried grapes.
Valpantena lies northeast of Verona, a valley whose hills combine limestone and clay with areas of basaltic soil. The vineyards benefit from good exposure and cooler conditions than the warmer plains below.
Corvina is the essential grape here. It brings cherry fruit, lively acidity and the aromatic identity of traditional Valpolicella. Merlot adds a little flesh, while Rondinella completes the blend.
The 2021 vintage gave producers ripe, healthy grapes after a growing season marked by dry conditions and considerable differences between daytime and nighttime temperatures. Bertani’s Ripasso takes advantage of that concentration without abandoning its regional character.
How It’s Made
The starting point is a young Valpolicella wine, fermented in stainless steel.
During winter, it undergoes a second fermentation in contact with the skins remaining from Amarone production. These skins still contain compounds capable of adding colour, flavour, tannins and a little extra alcoholic strength.
This is the ripasso technique, the defining feature of the appellation.
The additional fermentation creates a wine richer and more substantial than ordinary Valpolicella, but less concentrated than Amarone, whose grapes are dried before their primary fermentation.
Bertani then matures the wine in large oak vessels and concrete vats, followed by three months in bottle.
Large barrels are particularly suitable for this style. Their relatively modest oak influence allows the wine’s cherry fruit and earthy nuances to remain prominent, rather than burying everything beneath vanilla and toast.
For another interpretation of the technique, Balt Adalia’s 2018 Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore offers a lighter, fruitier perspective on the same winemaking tradition.
Tasting Notes
Colour: Deep ruby red with vivid garnet reflections. Concentrated and luminous, without the almost black opacity of the heaviest Ripasso wines.
Bouquet: Dark cherry and blackcurrant emerge first, followed by sour cherry preserve, cocoa and a discreet spicy undertone. A suggestion of woodland earth gives the fruit a more savoury character, while delicate chocolate notes recall the wine’s contact with Amarone skins. The nose is rich and inviting, although its aromatic range remains relatively compact.
Palate: Broad, juicy and generously textured. Cherry and ripe plum provide an immediate sweetness of fruit, quickly countered by lively acidity and a firmer tannic grip. Cocoa and a touch of liquorice emerge towards the middle of the palate. The texture is velvety without becoming syrupy, and the wine retains a pleasingly dry, savoury character. Its strength lies in that contrast between ripe fruit and freshness rather than in extraordinary depth.
Finish: Moderately long, with persistent sour cherry, dark chocolate and a faint earthy bitterness. The tannins leave a gentle grip, while the acidity keeps the finish surprisingly brisk.
Our Verdict
Bertani Valpolicella Ripasso Valpantena 2021 is a richly flavoured, satisfying red that avoids the worst excesses of modern Ripasso. The fruit is generous, the tannins have substance, and the chocolate notes never completely smother the wine’s natural freshness.
It is not particularly intricate, and the second fermentation has inevitably softened some of Corvina’s original delicacy. But for around €16, this is a confident, characterful expression of the style, with none of the exhausting sweetness that can make more ambitious Ripasso bottles difficult to finish.
Price
€15.90 for a 750 ml bottle.
Food Pairings
Paella, vitello tonnato, chicken curry, pulled pork, empanadas, hamburgers.
