Mamete Prevostini Valtellina Superiore Sassella Sommarovina 2011
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The background story to Mamete Prevostini is very much that of a cellar which began its great love affair with wine and its production more than 70 years ago and which is inexorably linked to a particular geographical area: that of Valtellina, which represents one of the most important Italian mountain locations occupied by terraced vineyards.
Back in ancient times and right up to the present the area remains a vital junction as far as communication and transport is concerned: it essentially links Italy with Switzerland and thus the whole of northern Europe. A route undertaken over the centuries by peoples and civilizations who have all left their individual and particular mark, recognisable easily through the customs, traditions, culture and of course the products typical of their labors.
One of the most important, and which featured prominently, was wine production which still today forms an integral part of the culture through the tradition of producing prestigious and quality wines thanks very much to one of the most influential grapes in the world: the Nebbiolo. Perhaps it’s appropriate today to allow the real stars themselves – the great wines of Mamete Prevostini - to express their own qualities, their own individuality, style and character. I suspect they accomplish it far better than words can.
Responsible for some of the most elegant and age-worthy wines in the world, Nebbiolo, named for the ubiquitous autumnal fog (called nebbia in Italian), is the star variety of northern Italy’s Piedmont region. Grown throughout the area, as well as in the neighboring Valle d’Aosta and Valtellina, it reaches its highest potential in the Piedmontese villages of Barolo, Barbaresco and Roero. Outside of Italy, growers are still very much in the experimentation stage but some success has been achieved in parts of California. Somm Secret—If you’re new to Nebbiolo, start with a charming, wallet-friendly, early-drinking Langhe Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo d'Alba.
Containing an exciting mix of wine producing subregions, Lombardy is Italy’s largest in size and population. Good quality Pinot noir, Bonarda and Barbera have elevated the reputation of the plains of Oltrepò Pavese. To its northeast in the Alps, Valtellina is the source of Italy’s best Nebbiolo wines outside of Piedmont. Often missed in the shadow of Prosecco, Franciacorta produces collectively Italy’s best Champagne style wines, and for the fun and less serious bubbly, find Lambrusco Mantovano around the city of Mantua. Lugana, a dry white with a devoted following, is produced to the southwest of Lake Garda.