Alfio Mozzi, Valtellina Superiore Sassella “Grisone” For Cheap

Alfio Mozzi, Valtellina Superiore Sassella “Grisone”

By now, I think most SommSelect subscribers are well acquainted with Italy’s remarkable Valtellina—a growing zone on the Swiss border that looks a lot like Côte-Rôtie but produces red wines that resemble great Burgundies. The signature grape here is Nebbiolo, of course, but Nebbiolo that behaves differently than it does over in Piedmont—much in the same way a Pinot Noir from Sancerre is something apart from a Pinot Noir from Burgundy. 

Alfio Mozzi is a relative newcomer on the Valtellina wine scene, likely emboldened to take the plunge by the international recognition the wines of this remote region have received lately. His 2015 “Grisone” is a master class on how Valtellina takes Nebbiolo in a more finessed, perfumed direction compared to the likes of Barolo or Barbaresco. Sourced from the “Sassella” vineyard—a grand cru site in the Valtellina hierarchy—and bursting with fruity and floral Nebbiolo goodness thanks to a generous vintage (and a few years of bottle age), this is a sensational, seductive red. Do not miss this.

Centered on the city of Sondrio, in the northern-most reaches of Italy’s Lombardy region, Valtellina is a deeply carved Alpine valley traversed by the Adda River, which follows an East-West path; vineyards are planted only on the north bank of the Adda, giving them full-south, all-day sun exposures in a climate that might otherwise be too cool to ripen grapes—especially the late-ripening Nebbiolo. The steep pitches of the hillsides require the vineyards to be terraced, and they’re held in place by a network of hand-laid stone walls that were originally thought to be the work of ancient Ligurians, who had built similar terraces in the Cinque Terre near the Mediterranean. Look up from the Valtellina valley floor and you might think you’re in Côte-Rôtie, a similarly precipitous wall of rock that produces magical wines.

With the Swiss Alps looming overhead, the Valtellina is really something to behold—but it is ultimately a tiny wine region, spanning only about 300 hectares of vines along a 30-mile stretch of the Adda. In addition to Sassella, there are four other officially delimited crus under the Valtellina DOCG umbrella: Inferno, Valgella, Grumello, and Maroggia. All these sites have a multiplicity of owners farming and bottling wines from them (like Burgundy), and for a wine to be called Valtellina Superiore with a vineyard designation, it must be comprised of at least 90% Nebbiolo (here called Chiavennasca) from said vineyard and be aged a total of 24 months (12 of which must be in wood barrels) before release.

“Grisone” is the name of Mozzi’s organically farmed 3.5-hectare plot within Sassella. With altitudes ranging from 350-600 meters, Mozzi harvests in several passes, allowing fruit to be harvested at optimal ripeness. This shows in the wine, which has a nice layer of cherry-red fruit lending a softening hint of sappiness to the otherwise crisp texture. Imagine taking a handful of perfectly ripe red currants off the bush and popping them into your mouth and you get an idea of the snappy, electric feel of this red: In the glass, it’s a pale crimson leading to pink and brick orange at the rim, yet another example of an instance where color is highly misleading. This wine is light-bodied but makes a big and lasting impact, with high-toned aromas of wild strawberry, cherry, damp underbrush, black tea, leather, and exotic spice that carry over to the silky palate. It’s a finesse wine, eminently enjoyable now after 30 or so minutes in a decanter but with 5+ years of evolution still ahead of it. This is the second time we’ve gotten to offer this wine, and you couldn’t ask for a better vintage than ’15; pair it with the attached recipe and do yourself a favor and pick up more than one bottle. You’re going to miss it when it’s gone!