The 2018 Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso lifts up, with lavender and violets giving way to rich brown spice and crushed cherries. This is round and pliant yet salty in character with ample black fruits and sweet inner herbal tones. There's a nervous character to the 2018 that plays with the palate, giving it a sultry feel, while tapering off long yet fresh and juicy, lightly structured and savory with violet candies and cherry berry fruits.

Hints of violet and spice accent the soft cherry and fig cake flavors of this balanced, medium-bodied red, with light, chewy tannins and a touch of woodsy earth emerging on the finish. Corvina, Rondinella and Corvinone. Drink now. 3,000 cases made, 2,500 cases imported.