UK exclusive Passito Valpolicella Superiore wine with concentrated flavours. 100% organic, low-sulphite and ideal for long ageing.

This Passito Valpolicella Superiore has a delightfully concentrated flavour, simply packed with red cherry, chocolate and spices. Usually, the Passito method is used to make expensive Amarone wine. But Camilla Rossi-Chauvenet, the winemaker at Massimago, is known as an innovator. Her winery is 100% organic and sustainable, generating 80% of their electricity from solar panels. She decided to make a Valpolicella with richer and deeper flavours, as a more refreshing twist of Amarone, and her efforts paid off. This wine has received a seriously impressive 92/100 score from wine expert James Suckling.

To make a passito wine, grapes are harvested by hand before they are fully ripe, so they’re still full of natural zingy acidity. Then, they are dried indoors, in fruttaio, for thirty days to concentrate the sugars and flavours. Next, the grapes are crushed and macerated for four days, to extract more colour. The juice is then fermented in stainless steel tanks, to preserve the natural fruitiness and aromas. After that, the wine is left to mature for five months – again in stainless steel – and then aged in French oak barriques for twelve months. It is given twelve more months to mature in bottle, giving the flavours plenty of time to settle and integrate. This ultimately produces a complex wine with flavours of fresh berries, spices and herbs.

Tasting notes

Medium ruby colour. Pronounced aromas of fresh red cherry, redcurrant, mint and fennel, underpinned by notes of cedar wood, black pepper and chocolate. This concentrated Valpolicella wine is dry on the palate, with a full body, velvety medium tannins and a high level of alcohol. It has elegant acidity balancing the expressive taste of red fruits.

Ageing potential

10 years

Awards

“Plenty of ripe fruit with hints of chocolate and new wood. Medium to full body, velvety tannins and a flavourful finish. Drink or hold.” – James Suckling

James Suckling – 92 points (2013 vintage) | Decanter World Wine Awards 2017 – Bronze Medal (2013 vintage) | Decanter World Wine Awards 2020 – Silver Medal (2015 vintage) | The WineHunter 2020 – Rosso (2015 vintage) | Mundus Vini 2020 Spring Tasting – Gold Medal (2015 vintage)