Alfio Mozzi Grisone Sassella 2013

This genuinely extraordinary mountain-created Nebbiolo wine originating from Valtellina flaunts all the incredible attributes that one would expect in such a style of wine. It has a satisfying character that invigorates the sense of taste with its parity and consistency.

Alfio Mozzi is a relative newcomer on the Valtellina wine scene (if not its grape-developing scene), encouraged to dive in by the universal acknowledgment the wines of the locale have gotten of late. Valtellina reds, for example, Mozzi's 2013 "Grisone" take Nebbiolo in an increasingly perfumed, ethereal bearing than Barolo or Barbaresco—the tannins are gentler and all the more finely grained, the liquor progressively limited, and the general effect more red-fruited and flower than the run of the mill Piedmontese Nebbiolo. Both are extraordinary, don't misunderstand me, however in case I'm going to contrast any Nebbiolo with red Burgundy, it's bound to be from Valtellina. The present wine, hailing from a standout amongst Valtellina's most prized "cru" vineyards—Sassella—has quite recently been made accessible in the US out of the blue.