There are many things to consider when writing a wine list. What is the cuisine of the restaurant? Who are the clientele, and what will they like? And finally: What would I, the sommelier, want to drink? I won’t comment on which is the most important of these considerations, but I will say that today’s rosé is one I want to drink.
It’s not because I’m so Italian-centric, or because it is so inexpensive (although that doesn’t hurt): It’s because this rosato, made from Nebbiolo grown along Italy’s border with Switzerland, is exactly the kind of slap to the face (and jolt to the palate) I seek when I drink rosé. I don’t want flabby and fruity: I want crisp, mineral, spicy. Whereas rosé has become annoyingly ubiquitous as a cutesy cocktail-hour phenomenon, I think of rosé—rosato in Italian—almost exclusively in a gastronomic context. That may sound pretentious, but it’s not meant to: When it comes to food-friendliness and versatility, it’s tough to beat a wine like this 2016 Nebbiolo Rosato “Monrose” from the Valtellina. The first sip of this deeply mineral rosato is like touching a live wire to your tongue—rarely will you taste a wine and conjure as many potential dishes to pair with it. Some perfect grilled prawns? Check. Panzanella? Check (we’re not quite there but I can’t wait). This is Nebbiolo—the noble red of the Italian northwest—in rosé form, and, like the best Pinot Noir versions from Burgundy and Sancerre, it does not disappoint!
The Valtellina is about two hours north of Milan, and arriving there is half the fun: you drive the length of Lake Como, after which you’re deposited into the Adda River Valley, walled in on either side by mountains. The most unique feature of the valley, which is centered on the sleepy city of Sondrio, is that the Adda runs along an almost perfect East-to-West path. Because the valley is so deeply carved, all the Valtellina’s vineyards are planted on the north bank of the river, enabling them to take all-day sun in a climate that might otherwise be too cool to ripen grapes—especially the late-ripening Nebbiolo. It is an amazing sight to look up from the valley floor to the vineyards above, many of their stone terraces emblazoned with the names of some of the region’s big wine names (à la Côte-Rôtie in the Rhône). These terraces were thought to have been built by the same Ligurians who terraced the Cinque Terre, and without these terraces, viticulture would be impossible—even with them, there’ still the occasional mudslide, and it goes without saying that mechanized vineyard work is utterly impossible.
So, this is yet another instance in which you are drinking a $20-ish bottle of wine whose arduous journey to your glass is somehow not reflected in its price. Valtellina vineyards are rooted in a mix of sand, silt, and stone, much of it hauled up from the valley floor to construct the terraces. The stones and larger rocks help with heat retention, as does the altitude and aspect of the vineyards—they tilt toward the sun like one of those shiny metallic sun-catchers Paulie “Walnuts” Gualtieri used in “The Sopranos.”
Mamete Prevostini, grandfather (and namesake) of the winery’s current proprietor, had a restaurant in Sondrio; he made some wines for the restaurant from his vineyards nearby, and eventually it grew into a commercial-scale winery. Since 1995, Mamete Prevostini the grandson has run the estate and recently completed construction of a new cellar. He makes an entry-level red, “Botonero,” that is one of the great introductions to Nebbiolo as grown in the Valtellina—i.e., brightly perfumed, lighter in weight, with more moderate alcohol/tannin—and the “Monrose” rosé is similarly evocative: I love Nebbiolo rosé wherever it is made (there are plenty of marvelous examples in neighboring Piedmont), because it leans savory more so than sweet—and even shows a hint of Nebbiolo’s notorious tannin even after spending just eight hours macerating on its skins during fermentation. It aged for about six months in tank before bottling.
This 2016 has had the chance to deepen and broaden somewhat (I don’t think I’d want it any younger), but it still has electricity and crunch in spades: that slap to the face I mentioned above isn’t a withering blow but a playful, teasing one that ignites the salivary response. In the glass, it’s a pale, coppery pink, with aromas of red apple skin, dried cranberry, blood orange peel, rose petal, nutmeg, dried herbs, and crushed rocks. If you want “cocktail” rosé, pick something else: This wine is meant for a meal, and the variety of meals it will complement is almost limitless—I’d be as happy with this next to a steak off the grill as I would with a lighter seafood pasta or salad. At the moment, its combination of bright fruit and deep salinity puts me in the mind of shrimp or prawns: Serve it at 45-50 degrees in all-purpose white wine stems with the attached recipe and be sure to have multiple bottles on hand (even if it’s just two of you). You will be reaching for this wine all summer long, I guarantee it!
