Alpha Zeta R Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso 2023
£13.75
The wine
Ruby red, opening on a concentrated nose of red fruits and dried cherries. Full-bodied and nicely balanced between an opulent cherry-pie character and supple structure, finishing long with a mouthwatering bitter-cherry twist.
Ripasso is the Veronese trick of giving a young Valpolicella a second life on Amarone skins, so it picks up colour, body and depth without being dried itself. The modern method used here ferments the young wine together with dried grapes rather than waiting for the Amarone to finish in March. The fruit is Corvina-led from the Valpantena hills at 200 to 300 metres.
The producer
Alpha Zeta
View all Alpha Zeta winesAlpha Zeta is a clever idea, beautifully executed. Founded in 1999 by the Master of Wine David Gleave and the acclaimed New Zealand winemaker Matt Thomson, the project set out to prove that the Veneto could deliver modern, characterful wines at genuinely everyday prices.
The approach is refreshingly direct. Rather than buying in finished wine, Alpha Zeta works hand in hand with growers in the hills around Verona, in the Valpantena and Alpone valleys, lowering yields and picking later for riper, cleaner fruit. Cool air spilling down from the foothills of the Dolomites keeps the grapes fresh and aromatic.
The name says it all. From A to Z, each wine is labelled by a single letter and made to show its grape and its place as clearly as possible: the crisp S Soave, the melon-scented C Chardonnay, the juicy V Valpolicella and the rich A Amarone at the summit. Most are sealed under screwcap to keep them bright and free of fault.
The result is a range that punches far above its price, fresh, honest and true to the Veneto. Proof that great everyday drinking and real quality need not be at odds.
