Valtellina Superiore Il Pettirosso 1999

Grape variety: Nebbiolo/Chiavennasca

The pettirosso (robin redbreast) can be found everywhere in the woods that now look down on the Valtellina, which was once under vine far higher up. Robins rarely enter the cellar, but that day one came in and alighted on an old wooden barrel, as if warning us of something. A few days later, while she was tasting the wine, Isabella noticed there was a slight leak from one of the acacia staves.

The wine appeared to be ready for bottling, but the barrel unfortunately needed replacing. There wasn’t enough to warrant a new label so she and Emanuele chose a few barrels of that ’97 – the most mature – and it became Il Pettirosso.

Arturo designed the first labels and so, to continue the family tradition, Isabella asked her husband Enrico to do it, in view of the success of the first: the Rosso di Valtellina.

On some special evenings, Il Pettirosso comes to dinner on the terraces above Sondrio, chirping merrily. Only in the case of some vintages, our cellar tastings suggest that we make a Valtellina Superiore as the unanimous expression of the three central areas of the DOCG.

The maceration and ageing are decided on the spot, almost like an actor improvising the plot of a play. It seems that the plot written by Arturo provides the perfect ground for building up the wines of tomorrow.