With 40,000 bottles made, the Le Salette 2019 Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore I Progni is a blend of 70% Corvina and Corvinone with 30% Rondinella and Oseleta. It delivers dried fruit aromas and scorched earth with oaky notes and cola. The wine ages in large oak casks for 18 months.

The Le Salette 2017 Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore I Progni defies the heat and the scorching temperatures of the vintage to deliver carefully balanced and elegant results. Le Salette is a champion when it comes to harnessing the inner power of Valpolicella grapes. This Ripasso opens to a dark garnet color and aromas of dark cherry, Japanese plum, toasted almond, sweet spice and cured tobacco. You get everything you need for a weekend pairing with barbecued meats.

This wine does not see appassimento, but like all Ripasso, the 2016 Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore I Progni is refermented on the air-dried skins left over from Amarone. The blend is 70% Corvina and Corvinone, with 30% Rondinella and Oseleta. It undergoes 18 months of aging in barrique and Slavonian oak. This is a terrific wine to pair with your favorite hamburger dressed with smoky barbecue sauce, or prime ribs, or else Santa Maria tri-tip. In other words, it's a great meat wine. Some 40,000 bottles were produced.

The 2012 Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore I Progni is 65% Corvina and Corvinone, 25% Rondinella, 5% Molinara and 5% Croatina aged in oak for 18 month. This Ripasso is achieved thanks to a secondary fermentation executed over the skins of sweet Recioto dessert wine. That's what gives Ripasso I Progni that extra aromatic kick. In the mouth, the wine is soft and supple.

The delicious 2010 Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore I Progni oozes over the palate with impressive intensity and richness. Slowly, it imparts perfectly balanced tones of exotic spice, cinnamon, dark chocolate, dried cherry, resin, tar and tobacco. Everything fits together so well. Soft tannins and plush extraction wrap snug around the palate. Drink 2015-2019. Franco Scamperle’s Amarone Pergole Vece is one of the best Valpolicella wines on the market today. Only made in the best vintages from old vines, it sees a longer appassimento and oak regime to increase the wine’s distinctive intensity. Pergole Vece ranks high on my list of personal favorites, but unfortunately I have seen the wine’s retail price creep up suddenly the past few years. Importer: Vias Imports, www.viaswine.com