2007 Sassella Riserva Rocce Rosse
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The 2007 Valtellina Superiore Sassella Riserva Rocce Rosse is another superb wine from Ar.Pe.Pe. Four years in cask and several more in bottle - along with the personality of the year - yielded a relatively soft Valtellina Superiore with gentle contours and plenty of appeal. Readers who prefer wines with delineation and energy will find those qualities more expressed in some of the other wines in this range. The 2007 Rocce Rosse, on the other hand, is a relatively easygoing wine that can be enjoyed with minimal fanfare. It also appears to be on a relatively fast curve of aging.
Critic scores
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate
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The 2007 Valtellina Superiore Riserva Sassella Rocce Rosse is another gorgeous creation from Ar. Pe. Pe. That two-year difference does come through when you taste this wine next to the other new releases from the 2009 vintage that I have also reviewed for this report. There are more tangible hints of the wine's evolution here with crushed stone, licorice and pressed rose. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of fruit left here too, and I would argue that it shows with more brilliance and freshness in this wine from the Valtellina region compared to many Nebbiolo-based wines made at lower altitudes in Piedmont. Smoke, tar and redcurrant round off the focused, yet beautifully articulate mouthfeel. Some 17,000 bottles were produced.