2018 La Formica di Bonuzzi Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore

The name says it all. La Formica means "the ant," a nod to Aesop's fable about the ant who works through the summer so there's something to share when winter comes. The Bonuzzi family has lived by that idea for more than a century. In 1893, Luigi Bonuzzi built a small shrine to San Vincenzo Ferreri in a clearing above the family vines, asking for protection from the hailstorms that still hit this corner of the Veneto. Today Nicola Bonuzzi carries that same careful, long-view approach into every bottle.

The family's vineyards sit in the Val d'Illasi, on the far eastern edge of Valpolicella. The vines grow between about 240 and 380 meters, on gravelly, free-draining soils that ripen grapes early and give the wines their intense fruit. Some vineyards still use the traditional Veronese pergola, others guyot, and yields are kept low so every cluster counts.

This is Ripasso done the classic way. Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, and a touch of Oseleta ferment for about two weeks. The young wine is then "re-passed" over the dried skins left from making Amarone, which gives it extra depth, color, and richness. It ages for a year, partly in barriques and partly in large Allier oak casks, then rests at least six more months in bottle before release.

The result sits right between an everyday Valpolicella and a full Amarone: rich and serious, but still easy to love on a weeknight. 2018 was a cooler year in Valpolicella, known for spicy, fresh fruit and good acidity, and with a few years of age this bottle is ready to open. Pour it with a mushroom risotto, a Tuesday-night ragù, or a hard aged cheese and some good bread.