Ar.Pe.Pe Rosso di Valtellina 2018

SKU
ARRO201811 UCAU
  • Ar. Pe. Pe. is one of the best traditional wineries from the mountain region of Valtellina near the Swiss border.
  • This scrumptious, Burgundy style red is full of sweet red berries with a firm grip of tannin on the end.
  • Really delicious.
  • 1 or more bottles
    $53.99
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  • Gary Walsh
    93 points

Editors notes

Outstanding Nebbiolo, from one of Alto Piedmont’s premiere producers. Delicate red florals lead into juicy fruit, fine tannins, a hint of cocoa, and a saline note. A very special wine which you really ought to try!

Details

Tasting Profile

  • Light (Light)
    Full (Full)
  • Low Tannin (Low Tannin)
    Tannic (Tannic)
  • Sweet (Sweet)
    Dry (Dry)
  • Low Acidity (Low Acidity)
    High Acidity (High Acidity)
  • Aroma
    • Earthy
    • Roses
    • Tar
  • Palate
    • Floral
    • Savoury
    • Tar

Food Pairings

  • Game
  • Pork
  • Red Meat

Critic Scores & reviews

  • Gary Walsh

    93
    "(2014 vintage) Brightly lit wine featuring red fruits, alpine herbs, something like volcanic rocks, new leather and honey. It’s light, pretty and crunchy fresh strawberried, with fine almost peppery tannin, cool lacy acidity, and a precise finish of satisfying length. Gee, I love drinking this wine. So much energy and style. Seek it out for an alternative expression of great Nebbiolo."

Other vintages

Love this wine? Here's a list of other vintages we have in stock if you'd like to try them as well.

Current auction

All current auctions for this wine & any different vintages.

Locations

Italy

Italy has some of the oldest wine production methods in the world and almost every part of the country is planted under vine. From the Alps in the north to the very southernmost parts of Sicily where Africa is almost in sight, wine is successfully cultivated. In addition to the latitude covered, Italy's many mountains and hills provide a plethora of altitudes for grape growing in various soils and micro-climates. The extensive coastlines along the peninsula that is Italy provide maritime climates for the coastal wine-growing areas. Over 350 grape varieties are 'authorised' in Italy, though up to 550 varieties are thought to be grown.

The classification system of Italian wines has four classes, with the intention of defining a wine's origin a quality. Two of these classes are table wines, whilst DOC and DOCG fall under the EU quality wine produced in a specific region category. Vino da Tavola (VDT) means that the wine comes from Italy. Most of these wines are generally basic table wines that are consumed domestically. Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT) denotes a more specific region within Italy, and the resultant will be of higher quality than simple table wines, but won't conform to the rules required for higher certification. Both Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) and Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) are regionally more specific than IGT, and have stricter rules regarding the grape varieties grown, yields per hectare, minimum alcohol levels and so on. The major difference between DOC and DOCG is that the latter has to undergo a blind-tasting session to ensure the highest quality is achieved. Italy has 32 DOCG appelations, 311 DOC appelations and 120 IGT zones.

Key regions include Piedmont, Tuscany, Abruzzo, Veneto, Sicily and Sardinia. Common white varieties grown are Pinot Grigio, Arneis, Vermentino, Verdicchio, Fiano and Moscato. The red varieties grown the most are Sangiovese, Barbera, Dolcetto, Nebbiolo, Montepulciano, Primitivo, Nero d'Avola and Corvina.

Lombardy

In north-central Italy, the wine region of Lombardy boasts 20 Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC), five five Denominazioni di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG), and 13 Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT) designations. It’s also home to many small, family-owned artisan wineries. The region has built a strong reputation for its ‘metodo classico’ (classic method) sparkling wines made in Brescia from Franciacorta. Lombardy also produces red wines from Nebbiolo (known locally as Chiavennasca) grapes in Valtellina, delicious Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir) wines, as well as rosés in the areas surrounding Lake Garda.

Valtellina

Valtellina is a wine region of alpine mountains and valleys in northern Lombardy in Italy. The Adda River wends its way through this region of steeply terraced slopes. Interestingly, the region is home to more grapegrowers than wine producers. So, though this dramatic landscape of high-altitude vineyards presents certain challenges for viticulture, other forces benefit grapegrowing, such as the moderating protection the Alps afford the valley as well as the warm breezes off Lake Como. This combination enables ripe fruit and produces highly aromatic yet light-bodied wines. Among the grapes grown here are Nebbiolo (known locally as Chiavennasca), which benefits from bright sunlight and high diurnal range and results in piercing, sinewy reds; Bonardo (or Croatina), a high-tannin, versatile red grape that produces dark-coloured, creamy, fruity wines with a hint of bitterness; and Groppello, a red grape that grows in tight bunches and produces wines with crisp acidity, intense aromas, and spicy notes. Within Valtellina, the best wines come from the Valtellina Superiore Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) and its five subzones: Grumello, Inferno, Sassella, Maroggia, and Valgella.

About the brand Arpepe

The Perego family has been tending vines on these sheer granite terraces in the mountainous Valtellina since 1860. The vines are so far north into the alps they are practically in Switzerland.

They work only with Nebbiolo, or Chiavennasca as it is called in these parts, growing the grapes up to 700 metres above sea level on sheer, south-facing, sunlit vines that dig straight into rock. The resulting fruit is intensely mineral.

Production is very much of the old-school and labour is intense, the hills making it very difficult to reach the fruit at all. Everything in the vineyard is done by hand and in the cantina the family exercises a soft touch with great patience, leaving the wines to rest until they are deemed ready for release.

The transparency of the grape, the singular landscape and the Perogo’s gentle hand in the cantina lend these wines a remarkable sense of place.

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