Alfio Mozzi is a relative newcomer on the Valtellina wine scene, likely emboldened to take the plunge by the international recognition the wines of this remote region have received lately. We’ve offered his pitch-perfect Nebbiolos (aka Chiavennasca) before, but today we have something truly special: Sforzato. Sourced from the same “Sassella” vineyard—a grand cru site in the Valtellina hierarchy—as his other bottlings, this is a rare and particular wine that is made by drying the grapes in special “huts” that exist right in the vineyards. Think Barolo meets Amarone, add a decade of aging, and then throw in the Alpine peculiarities of Valtellina and you’ll have a decent idea of what kind of magic exists in this bottle. But the only way to truly understand it is to try it for yourself. You’ll have to hurry though, we have the last 60 bottles of this vintage anywhere on the planet!

Centered on the city of Sondrio, in the northernmost 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 it is ultimately a tiny wine region, spanning only about 300 hectares of vines along a 30-mile stretch of the Adda. In addition to Sassella, there are four other officially delimited crus under the Valtellina DOCG umbrella: Inferno, 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.

While the production of Valtellina Superiore and the individual “Cru” bottlings is small, the production of Sforzato is miniscule. On average just 25,000 cases are made each year in total, and of course Alfio makes just a few dozen. Sforzato is a “passito” wine, which means the grapes are dried prior to pressing in order to concentrate the sugars and raise the alcohol (14% is the minimum for the DOCG). Most passito are sweet, but Sforzato is finished bone-dry, similar to Amarone, except that the Veneto makes about 17 million bottles each year–50 times the Valtellina production!

With a decade of bottle age under its belt, Alfio’s 2013 Sforzato is ready to impress with just a brief, gentle decant off the sediment. Serve at cellar temperature in a large Bordeaux or Burgundy stem, and the intoxicating perfume will open quickly. Up front aromas of dried cherries and blueberries are followed by warm spices–clove, cinnamon, nutmeg–and sweet-savory notes of dates, bitter chocolate, espresso, candied orange, and dried rose petals. Although the wine is robust and concentrated, Nebbiolo maintains its excellent freshness and acid/tannin structure no matter what. You can serve with a simple spread of aged Alpine cheese, nuts, and dark chocolate, or try it with a Stracotto, a traditional Lombardian beef rib stew. This is a truly unique experience, do not miss it!