Winemaker Notes
The Valtellina Superiore Sassella Riserva Nuova Regina shows you how exciting a red wine from the Valtellina can be if you have the good fortune to enjoy it when it has been given all the the right waiting time. Its quintessential simplicity surprise you for its wonderful cleanliness and freshness in the mouth and, thanks to the versatility of Nebbiolo from the Alps, it brings out its best on tables around the world.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Intense floral nose of red and dark fruit, with a slightly peppery, almost meaty character. There is a lot of stony minerality. Tight-knit structure with fruit and acidity that are crisp and zesty, ripe tannins, a velvety texture and a medium body. Good cherry fruit finish. Drinkable now, but best from 2026.
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Wine Spectator
Shows a zesty, fragrant layer of milled pepper and chopped rosemary accenting flavors of cherry, raspberry and leather. This red's detailed flavor range is integrated with bright acidity and firm, fine-grained tannins. Best from 2025 through 2030.
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.