From a cru from the sub-area of Valgella, a great red that tells the territory, focusing on elegance and the ability to challenge time
Going along the SS38, which leads from Switzerland to Lake Como, one cannot help but be enchanted by the spectacle of the Valtellina vineyards. Thousands of kilometers of dry stone walls welcome and contain the Nebbiolo grape plants, here called chiavennasca, clinging to the sides of the mountains and exposed in full South: this work by peasant engineering, developed in Roman times, has characterized the valley for over two thousand years. Walking through the vineyards is the easiest way to understand what the expression “heroic viticulture": The slopes are extreme, the works must be carried out almost always without the help of the machines, the heat in summer is hellish (not for nothing one of the sub-regions of Valtellina is called Inferno).
The most important and representative cellar of the denomination is undoubtedly the Nino Negri, inaugurated in 1897, enlarged in the sixties by Nino's son, Carlo Negri, and today owned by the Italian Wine Group. Guided for 40 years by the Trentino oenologist Casimiro Maule, "inventor" of the iconic 5-star Sfrusat wine, it is today run by the Piedmontese Danilo Drocco and produces about 800,000 bottles a year. To the 31 hectares of property there are added 120 worked by historical contributors, who go on to compose a truly impressive heritage of vineyards for the territory. But if you had to choose just one place to represent the company, you would have to reach the sub-area of Valgella, in the easternmost sector of the denomination, where the Fracia vineyard, the first purchased by the Negri family. It is a real one 10 hectare cru (of which 7 are from Nino Negri), facing south, at an altitude ranging from 350 to 500 meters. As in the rest of the Valtellina, the strong temperature changes between day and night and between winter and summer and the constant action of the Foehn alpine wind ensure the optimal environment for the maturation of the chiavennasca grape, which is harvested here in October, when it reaches a slight over-ripeness. With these grapes the Valtellina Superiore Vigneto Fracia is produced, one of the most elegant and territorial reds of Nino Negri: drunk in youth, it is able to seduce with its aromas ranging from violet to rose, to plum, enlivened by spicy notes that recall the clove, but if you have time to let it mature in the cellar for a few years, you will find yourself uncorking a magnificent wine with grace and complexity.
Why now: it is the best time to walk in the mountains and then take a break in a trattoria, sipping a local red, with robust alpine dishes.
As did: after the vinification, lasting 8 days, the wine made a passage in steel, then it was aged in second passage barriques for about 20 months. He rested another 6 months in bottle before being put on the market.
To combine with: pizzoccheri, pork loin with prunes, seasoned cheeses, grilled meats, game.
Serve it at: 16 ° C.
Price: 28 euros.
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