WTN: Valtellina Superiore

["T"]

Valtellina is located in Lombardy Italy where Nebbiolo can be as elegant as it can be in Piedmonte.

Valgella is one of the 5 sub-zones for Valtellina Superiore.

Medium bodied garnet with a watery brickish rim.

Ripe cherries, lightly tarred. Cedar plank on the nose.

Medium plus acidity and firm tannin on the palate. Bright cherry almost sour cherry pie. Ashphalt carries over to the palate.

After 1 hour.

On the nose the cherry has turned into cooked cherries and the ashphalt characteristics of Nebbiolo are much more apparent.

Baked cherry pie with licorice whip on the palate. Acid is still quite high but the tannins have softened somewhat but everything is deeper and richer.

Unfortunately I gave the rest of the bottle to a friend so he would have something to go with his steaks.

Oh well, 2 glasses for me, I can live with that.

Two bottles left in the cellar.

Think I'll wait until next summer to open the next one.

$25.75 Canadian dollars or actually $25.75 Alberta dollars. Most likely if it was available in BC it would be closer to $45.75 Can dollars.

[John W.]

Enjoyed the Rainoldi "Inferno" V.S. '97 yesterday. Great way to drink Nebbiolo without paying a truckload. I think we spent $40 or less at a local restaurant.

The wine pretty much mirrored your notes, "T," with seemingly more pronounced fennel/licorice notes, and hints of prune to boot.

I found this pretty informative.

["T"]

Thanks for the link John.

Over the next 6 months or so I am going to try and purchase more wines from this area and have a compare and contrast tasting along with Piedmont Nebbiolo.

All in the name of education of course.