Even More Reds

Well, let's see what I can remember about these wines. First, we have Falasco Valpantena Valpolicella Ripasso Italy 2004. This bottle of wine, we received from some friends as a thank you for letting them stay in our apartment one weekend they wanted to visit NYC. We probably would have opened it then, but we were already drinking some white and decided to continue on in that vein. Anyway, my wife and I opened this the other night, and it was very nice. It's a lighter red from Italy without any big chewiness. Also, it started out with very little harshness that melted away as it sat in your glass. It had a lot of dark fruits and some licorice. The tasting notes I read say it goes well with meats, which is good since I had it with my own Italian beef stew. As an aside, RIPASSO has to do with the way the wine is made. It assumes the winemaker makes an amarone first: "Amarone is made with dehydrated grapes which have lost 30% or 40% of their juice. It is then pressed and that viscous liquid is put in barriques to age from 1 year to 18 months; with time the lees drop to the bottom and the wine is clear. After bottling the lees of the Amarone are kept in the cask which is then filled with Valpolicella. The new wine stays for about 3 months and the lees are still able to transfer aromatic elements to the new wine which becomes rounder and richer."
The other wine I wanted to put on here was another wine from Ruffino. It was Ruffino Il Ducale 2003. I had read some good things about this wine (mostly about its more expensive cousin Ruffino Ducale Chianti Classico Riserva Gold Label) and thought I would give it a try. Ruffino says that the grapes for its Ducale wines are grown in the most prestigious vine growing areas of Tuscany. Is it true? I really don't know. This wine is mostly Sangiovese grapes, with some Merlot (15%) and Cabernet Savignon (5%) added to it. It is a mellow wine, with some fruits, but with a hint of chocolate. A good, inexpensive wine. Personally, I enjoy the Ruffino wines, and this one was no exception.

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