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Valtellina report 2019 – part 2

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Walter Speller

Two-thousand-year-old alpine viticulture on impossibly steep slopes starring primus inter pares Nebbiolo, Valtellina is surely bound to become Italy’s next cult wine region, argues Walter. See also part 1 for the history of the region and for tasting notes.

Monday, 25 November 2019
Barbacan vineyard in Valtellina

In Valtellina the mighty Nebbiolo reigns supreme. Of the valley’s 890 ha (2,200 acres) of vineyards, 814 ha are devoted to this variety, making it the second-largest source of Nebbiolo, after Barolo’s 2,149 ha but well ahead of Barbaresco’s 763 ha. 

In Valtellina, Nebbiolo, called Chiavennasca here, has found its sleekest, most perfumed, long-lived expression compared with all Italian denominations that make...