CODE: 6520

Valtellina Superiore Docg, sottozona Inferno

Region

Valtellina (Lombardia)

Grape variety

Nebbiolo (Chiavennasca)

Uomo

Nicola Nobili

Winery

Nicola Nobili

Grape Variety
Usually cultivated in an area of ​​Piedmont and in some places at the foot of the Alps. Nebbiolo wines always have a ruby ​​color with garnet reflections, which turn into more orange tones after aging. These wines show fresh fruity notes in their youth; while over the years they often develope elegant notes of dried flowers, sometimes undergrowth. It can develop spicy, tobacco and goudron tertiary hints. Wines of constant good structure, whose tannins generally take many years to soften. In Valtellina Nebbiolo is also called “Chiavennasca”.
Terroir
The vineyards, planted on terraces supported by dry stone walls, have their roots in one-two meters of land brought back by farmers on their shoulders (this impervious alpine area did not even have mule tracks). Below there is the serpentine rock, capable of accumulating heat and releasing it in the night. The rains are limited in early spring, in June and then in autumn. The Inferno area has an exposure that protects it from the cold Alpine currents; it is even lapped by the inverse currents of mild air coming from the lake. The toponyme derives from the high temperatures that are reached in summer on these terraces.
Uomo
The soil is poor in organic matter; Nicola makes fertilizations with bovine manure every 7-8 years. On the new vineyards Nicola cuts the bunches in the summer up to the eighth year, giving up part of the production; in this way, however, the young vines are stimulated to develop their roots in depth to the advantage of the easier survival of the vineyard in the hottest and driest years. The ripening of the grapes in the Sassella area is later than that of the grapes in the Inferno area. The separate vinifications allow to highlight the differences between the different areas due to different micro-climates.
Vinification and finishing
The harvest takes place after the middle of October, with grapes that reach an optimal phenological maturation. Cold maceration (because grapes arrive in the cellar too hot), with an intense extraction of color from the skins. Fermentation with indigenous yeasts, very long macerations, even longer than a month. After a period of rest in steel containers, transfer to large chestnut barrels for an aging of at least 4 and a half years.
Tasting notes
Of an elegant garnet color, very bright. The nose immediately presents tertiary aromas such as blackberries in alcohol, dried grapes and a delicate spice of cinnamon and pepper. In the mouth it is very round, the tannins are evident but not aggressive. There is a certain flavor. Long persistence, with an aftertaste of ripe black fig.
Request Information

Can you drink, legally?

You must be of legal drinking age to enter this website.

YES