Winemaker Notes
Dante's Sixth Canto describes the punishments inflicted on gluttons. The landscape is flailed by eternal rain and Cerberus barks horribly, baring his teeth, but Virgil silences him by filling his mouth with earth.
The estates only holding in the Inferno subzone, the grapes here produce the Sesto Canto bottling in exceptional years, or are otherwise the Fiamme Antiche when wines are more prompt and they do not produce Riserva.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
Inferno earns its subzone name and then defies it. Baked cherry and plum, wild mint and sun-warmed flowers all suggest heat and depth, river stones radiating beneath. But the palate pivots, fruit plump and present yet crackling with alpine energy and verve that only high mountain farming can produce. Drink now through 2050.
Cellar Selection -
James Suckling
A dark, vibrant and smoky wine with aromas of incense, tar, mint, red currants and pomegranates. Full-bodied, firm and dusty, with ripe tannins, crisp acidity and a long, dense finish. Drink or hold.
-
Vinous
The 2018 Valtellina Superiore Inferno Riserva Sesto Canto is poised, elegant and exceptionally polished. Brisk acids and beams of supporting tannin give this deceptively mid-weight Riserva tons of energy. The 2018 remains vibrant and super-expressive, perhaps a bit linear, but immensely enjoyable just the same.
-
Wine Spectator
A mineral-driven red, with sanguine iron, salt and smoke accents to the juicy flavors of plumped cherry, eucalyptus, strawberry paste and red licorice. Fragrant, with floral and herb notes through the creamy finish, firmed by chewy tannins. Drink now through 2040.
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.