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.

The Tommasi 2018 Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso is less intense, especially compared to the much riper 2017 vintage, but it ultimately shows better balance. This blend of Corvina, Rondinella and Corvinone reveals aromas of dark fruit and black cherry, and there are soft tones of spice and pressed rose at the edges. To the palate, the wine offers a slender approach with an easy-drinking style. Production is about 600,000 bottles.