MCF Rare Wine
Nebbiolo From The Edge
The word 'edge' applies in more than one way to today's wines.
The Valtellina zone, in Lombardy, is a small, but (truly) spectacular appellation, set among the steep hills around the city of Sondrio, and, for me, it represents the very essence of the notion of 'Alpine' wine.
These ancient, stone terraced vineyards, mostly planted with the Chiavennasca strain of Nebbiolo, in many ways, seem to sit at the edge of the world...well, certainly at the edge of winemaking, at least.
Being that's is such a small production zone, coming across a new producer is a bit of a rarity, but come across a new producer I did, just a couple of weeks ago, and the wines are fantastic.
I need to stress 'new' in this case, as Marco Ferrari is indeed new on the scene (first vintage 2019), as opposed to being a producer who was just recently 'discovered'...
...but if you'd have blind tasted me on these wines, saying only that they were both Valtellina Superiore, there's no way I would have guessed they were from a new producer.
They tasted like they were made by an already legendary, multi-generational estate, who'd long since mastered the art of working with the electric, laser-focused nebbiolo of this most striking area.
Marco worked multiple stints in the Northern Rhône, most notably with Franck Balthazar, where working steep vineyards was an integral part of the job. He then returned home to Valtellina to work at the legendary ArPePe estate.
He began acquiring vineyard sites around 2018 and now, here we are with this third vintage of 2021...and we come back to the word 'edge'.
These are textbook classic Valtellina - they are nervous, high-toned, electric, aromatic wines with deceptively firm structure.
They are the very definition of 'edgy'...
His Sassella 2021 is the far more linear of the two, with incredible focus and finely detailed aromatics. It's so lofty, so focused and so subtly nuanced that you lose the ability to describe all of its micro-complexities.
Then we have his Inferno 2021, which exhibits everything that the Sassella does, but in a fuller, slightly burlier package. The fruit is one shade darker, one notch more textured and the mineral core is a bit broader.
Both of these are the kinds of wines that embody everything that a 'Mountain Nebbiolo' purist would get all misty-eyed about...
...which is why they make me misty-eyed.
This is wonderful Nebbiolo...
...Nebbiolo from the edge.
MARCO FERRARI
Valtellina Superiore Inferno 2021
Valtellina Superiore Sassella 2021
You may order by calling 212.255.8870.
Matt Franco
MCF Rare Wine, Ltd
249 West 13th Street NYC 10011
212.255.8870
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