Winemaker Notes
Bright garnet hue with ruby highlights. Pronounced, fruity nose of blackberry, woody licorice and spicy notes reminiscent of bay leaf and juniper. Dry and flavorsome on the palate with elegant, velvety tannins.ty tannins.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Pouring a bright red color, 85% of the 2021 Valtellina Superiore Mazer comes from Valgella, the coldest sub-region, and the rest from Inferno, the hottest sub-region. It lifts with notes of orange peel, fresh cranberries, anise, cedar, and incense. Medium-bodied, it has a focused and elegant feel on the palate, with chalky tannins, refreshing acidity, and a savory and mineral-textured finish. A small portion of the grapes are dried, and they use French and Slavonian oak barrels.
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.