Centered on the city of Sondrio, in the northern-most reaches of Italy’s Lombardy region, Valtellina is a deeply carved Alpine valley traversed by the Adda River, which follows an East-West path; vineyards are planted only on the north bank of the Adda, giving them full-south, all-day sun exposures in a climate that might otherwise be too cool to ripen grapes—especially the late-ripening Nebbiolo. The steep pitches of the hillsides require the vineyards to be terraced, and they’re held in place by a network of hand-laid stone walls that were originally thought to be the work of ancient Ligurians, who had built similar terraces in the Cinque Terre near the Mediterranean. Look up from the Valtellina valley floor and you might think you’re in Côte-Rôtie, a similarly precipitous wall of rock that produces magical wines.

With the Swiss Alps looming overhead, the Valtellina is really something to behold—but this is ultimately a tiny wine region, spanning only about 300 hectares of vines along a 30-mile stretch of the Adda. In addition to Inferno, there are four other officially delimited vineyards under the Valtellina DOCG umbrella: Sassella, Valgella, Grumello, and Maroggia. All these sites have a multiplicity of owners farming and bottling wines from them (like Burgundy), and for a wine to be called Valtellina Superiore with a vineyard designation, it must be comprised of at least 90% Nebbiolo (here called Chiavennasca) from said vineyard and be aged a total of 24 months (12 of which must be in wood barrels) before release. Mozzi's Grisone was aged 18 months in used, 20-hectoliter French oak foudres and six months in bottle before it was released.

These vineyards are rooted in a mix of sand, silt, and stone, much of which was hauled up from the valley floor. The stones and large rocks help with heat retention, and the southerly aspect of the vineyards maximizes sun exposure (enabling even tropical plants like agave to grow), but this is still “mountain” Nebbiolo, typically harvested in November and every inch a “cool climate” red: lithe, mineral, and fragrant as opposed to jammy and rich. Historically, most Valtellina wine was sold in Switzerland, but, as with some of the Alpine Nebbioli of Northern Piedmont (‘alto Piemonte’ appellations such as Gattinara), the wines offer a gentler take on Nebbiolo. Even wines from Sassella, considered the source of the most structured wines, are not powerhouses—they sidle up to you and seduce you rather than bowl you over.

Occasionally, too, they can be a little thin and wan—which is most definitely not the case with Mozzi’s 2013 “Grisone,” the name of his organically farmed 3.5-hectare plot within Sassella. With altitudes ranging from 350-600 meters, Mozzi harvests in several passes, allowing fruit to be harvested at optimal ripeness at every level. This shows in the wine, which has a nice layer of cherry-red fruit lending a softening hint of sappiness to the otherwise crisp texture. Imagine taking a handful of perfectly ripe red currants off the bush and popping them into your mouth and you get an idea of the snappy, electric feel of this red: In the glass, it’s a pale crimson leading to pink and brick orange at the rim, yet another example of an instance where color is highly misleading. This wine is light-bodied but makes a big and lasting impact, with high-toned aromas of wild strawberry, cherry, damp underbrush, black tea, leather, and exotic spice that carry over to the silky palate. It’s a finesse wine, eminently enjoyable now after 30 or so minutes in a decanter but with 5-7 years of graceful evolution ahead of it. It’s really one of the prettiest expressions of Nebbiolo I’ve had in some time, and it would complement the warm spice rub in the attached pork tenderloin recipe. Don’t miss this!