Winemaker Notes
Intense ruby red color. On the nose, notes of small red fruits, spices, tobacco, thyme. On the palate, it is rich, dense with a long, satisfying finish. A wine with great aging potential.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
Rainold’s 2018 Valtellina Superiore Inferno Riserva is packed with macerated cherry, licorice, sweet spice, leather, orange zest and vanillin. There’s a bit of oak sweetness here, but it works quite well. This racy, inviting Inferno Riserva is pretty alluring. Drink it over the next decade or so.
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James Suckling
Intense nose of pencil shavings, blood oranges and flowers. Woven tannins, toasty flavors, refreshing acidity and a silky, weighted texture on a medium body.
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Wine Spectator
Features fragrant tar and tea rose notes on the nose, which continue on the palate to underscore flavors of crushed cherry, dried fig, tobacco and a hint of dark chocolate. Firm, with gutsy tannins that are well-meshed overall but emerge on the fresh, savory finish. Best from 2025 through 2033. 1,150 cases made, 250 cases imported.
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Wine Enthusiast
Wild-rose aromas pour out of the bottle the moment you open it. As the wine develops, notes of red currants and sour cherries emerge followed by notes of bay leaf and thyme. The wine shifts gears on the palate with a focus on more savory notes hinting at medicinal herbs, oolong tea, dried lemon rind and then tart wild berries give the wine a lift on the finish with a zap of electric acidity.
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.