Arpepe Valtellina Superiore 'Il Pettirosso' 2018

ABOUT THE WINE: Handpicked fruit is sourced from the cantina's holdings in Grumello and Sassella with average vine age of over 50 years. Maceration is loooong (116 days) in botti before 12 months ageing in a mixture of vats and botti and another 12 months after bottling before release. 

ABOUT THE PRODUCER: Situated in northern Lombardy at the foot of the Alps, Arpepe was the passion of visionary winemaker and grower Arturo Pelizzatti Perego. Today his sons and daughter are crafting some of the most sublime Nebbiolo in the region. Arpepe produces wine from small, hand tended, low-yielding terraced plots in three of the Valtellina sub-zones: Grumello, Sassella and Inferno. The terraced vineyards, on the northern slopes, face south. The vines in Valtellina, some 400-500 metres above sea level, enjoy long cool days in the sun. Exceeding even Mt Etna, the region sees more sun than any other wine region in Italy. The roots go deep. They dig down through soils that have no natural business being there. Since Roman times, the topsoil has been brought up by hand and the terraces made of local schist and granite. Beneath the soil, the roots dig through layers of minerally complex stone and shale ground and compacted by ages of glacial action. This long strip of introduced soil it finite and hard to work. The steep slopes and precarious terraces, collapses are frequent, defy heavy machinery. It’s all done by hand. One person per hectare, that’s the guide. The three sub-zone are all different depending on elevation, soil structure and aspect. Grumello is more elevated than Sassella and Inferno and makes wines of class and elegance, with [in general] more fragrance than the latter two, which usually show more Barolo-like structure, although still Valtellina in character, with that Alpine purity and sense of weightlessness always present. Wine making is ultra-traditional, with long macerations and ageing on huge oak casks.