2016 AR.PE.PE. Valtellina Superiore Il Pettirosso
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
Here's a beautiful wine with a great human story behind it. Fruit from 50-year-old vines planted in friable granitic mountain soils is carried down to the winery in small cassettes on the hearty shoulders of the harvesters. With some 24,000 bottles made, the Ar. Pe. Pe. 2016 Valtellina Superiore Nebbiolo Il Pettirosso is perfumed with rosebud, wild berry, sour cherry and crushed stone. All that backbreaking human labor leads to a soft and gently polished red wine to pair with a classic buckwheat pasta from this ski-loving region.
Critic scores
Average Score
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2016 Valtellina Superiore Il Pettirosso is a terrific choice for readers who want to explore the Ar.Pe.Pe. wines before delving into some of the more pricey bottlings. Dried autumn leaves, cedar, pipe tobacco, herbs and licorice are some of the many notes that grace this wonderfully expressive, super-classic Valtellina Nebbiolo. Aging in cask brings out the nuances of these old vines so well. The transparency of Nebbiolo comes through beautifully.
‘We select a portion of Grumello and Sassella in the cellar.’ 100 days on the skins and 12 months in oak. ‘The idea from now on is that this wine is going to be a kind of pre-release as an indication of what is to come with the crus. This wine has the fruitiness of Grumello [soils are slightly deeper and with a southern exposure], but is always a little sweeter, rounder and softer than Sassella. Sassella is more minerally. Soils here are much more rocky and there is very little top soil, hence the wine tends to be a little more austere and you get the tension of the rocks. 2016 was a more classic vintage [cf the hot and early 2017] and we started picking in mid October.’ Just mid ruby. Beautiful, upfront, concentrated yet cool red-fruit nose with a minerally edge and a hint of liquorice. Tightly wound and with a little tension on the palate, with perfumed crushed redcurrant and raspberry. Fine, long tannins that are a perfect match for the fresh, elegant fruit. Truly refreshing. (WS)