“Sommet” Nebbiolo Valle d’Aosta DOP 2021

Les Crêtes | Valle d'Aosta
Soc. Agr. Di Charrère & C. s.s. | Loc. Villetos 50 | IT 11010 Aymavilles

06013021 · 0,75 l · 52,00 €/l · Price (DE) incl. VAT, excl. Shippingavailable immediately

When you say Nebbiolo, you think of Piedmont. Of Barolo and Barbaresco, of decades in barrels, of tannins that need more time than almost any other variety. This image is correct – and yet incomplete. Nebbiolo was already in the Aosta Valley long before anyone started marketing it. Here it has a different name: Picotendro. And it does not grow on the famous hills of the Langhe, but in the glacial Fondovalle of Arnad and Issogne – in an alluvial riverbed formed by glaciers, on silty-sandy sedimentary soils, 350 metres above sea level, between north-west and south-east exposures.

The Charrère family has embraced this silent identity. First vintage: 2015 The name: Sommet – french for summit. A nod to the mountains that surround these vineyards and give the wine its climate: short, cool summers, long, harsh winters, extreme temperature differences between day and night. What brings body and tannin in Piedmont, forms elegance and freshness here. Only 1.5 hectares, 4,000 bottles. Hand-picked at the end of October to the beginning of November – the latest harvest date in the entire portfolio. In the cellar: destemming, ten days of whole berry fermentation at 23 °C with daily pumping over, twelve months of ageing in 25 hectolitre French oak barrels, then a further twelve months of bottle ageing. No extract for extract's sake. No power that imposes itself.

Cherry red in colour with ruby reflections. The nose is fruity and clear: blackberry, cherry, violet, a balsamic undertone reminiscent of mountain air. Immediately accessible on the palate, elegant, savoury, with a soft spiciness and a long, lingering final. The summit is the view. No more, but also no less, and it is magnificent. SUPERIORE.DE

"A refined red wine with flavours of orange peel, dried cherries and a hint of herbs. Medium-bodied with fine tannins and a fresh finish. Bright and delicious." James Suckling