“Of the ‘modernist’ school in Valpolicella, Roccolo Grassi delivers some of the most distinctive red, white and dessert wines in northern Italy.” – Wine Advocate

That’s right! OVER 60% OFF a library vintage one of Northern Italy’s the “most distinctive” reds!

Which… carry the 2, add the 4… totals LESS THAN $20 per bottle!!!

Roccolo Grassi is one of the icon producers of Valpolicella that is helping put the region back on the map. Now, we know, some grew up watching our grandparents throw back glasses of thin red Valpo. This is not that.

It is essentially a baby Amarone di Valpolicella, in all but name, and price.

Thoroughly modern, this is a serious, ageworthy red! A combination of high altitude, immaculately farmed vineyards and inclusion of a percentage of concentrated semi-dried fruit (like Amarone is made from) give this wine a richness and density that is singular. And it shows in the glass.

As Vinous details, “Brother-and-sister team Marco and Francesca Sartori are the second generation to run the Roccolo Grassi winery, located outside of the Classico zone in Mezzane di Sotto. They tend to a total of 15 hectares according to organic practices… the Valpolicella benefits from a total of 24 months in wood, and it emerges as one of the top wines in its category. What’s even more interesting is that the family sees their Valpolicella as the wine that best represents them.”

In conclusion, “Marco and Francesca Sartori continue to be at the top of their game and, somehow, still under the radar.”

Pouring the wine reveals a bricking garnet color. More than a decade on, the aromas of fresh cherry and black fruit are matched with dried flowers, leather, mature tobacco, and deep earthy notes. It drinks like a perfectly aged Amarone, only lighter, with a wiry precision of an aged welterweight fighter.

Balanced to hold another couple of years, but at LESS THAN $20, WHY WAIT?!

We’re grabbing a case. You should, too.

91 Points – Decanter “Smoky and medicinal aromas, with notes of nutmeg, leather farmyard, black cherry and loganberry. Deep, firm, grippy and structured, but perfectly balanced, with voluptuous amounts of fruit. Complex, intriguing and a satisfying mealtime wine of depth, substance and allusiveness.”