The Magic of Valtellina!

A few weeks back we embarked on another trip to one our favourite wine regions, but this time we took our friends from the wonderful Bull’s Head.

This was no ordinary wine trip..

We departed Bristol early on the Sunday morning, so Early I think Jake & Damian had come straight from the kitchen after a busy Saturday night..

After touching down in Milan and sourcing our car from Drive Sicily, go figure?! we headed north to the mountains, as the Italian sun beamed down on us, it seemed a wasted opportunity to not stop at Lake Como for a swim and a spot of lunch before heading into the mountains.. No pics needed of this event.

After our depart from Como we head an hour or so North west to our base, Sondrio.

I’ve grown fond of Sondrio over the past few years, not necessarily the most dynamic of towns but a great base to explore the Valtellina Valley. It does have a fantastic wine bar called Terravino, run by a certified madman from Calabria, Terravino featured heavily in our trip..

Our first evening was an introduction to the region, this masterclass was hosted from the comforts of Ristorante Il Poggio where we enthusiastically imbibed in the regions greatest bottles paired with the typical local gastronomy! This restaurant is a gem, family run, has the best view of the valley and a killer wine list. A must visit if in the region. The Pizzocheri here was the best we had! After dinner we headed back into town to Terravino for a number of nightcaps..

We started our next day the only way you should on a wine trip, coffee & pastries on the town square with the locals followed by a cold water plunge, and I mean cold, the mountains were still capped with snow, the melt water creates a series of magical rivers along the valley which provide ultimate refreshment if you dare..

After feeling suitably awake we made our way to our 1st grower, Barbacan, I’ve been trying to meet with Luca for a while but timings have never worked. This time we managed to sort a visit, we arrived to his cellar and are welcomed with open arms & suitable enthusiasm!

Much to our Joy, we were offered a vineyard tour to see some of the plots that make my favourite wines. If you haven’t seen the vineyards of Valtellina, they are quite something! Super steep terraces that adorn the south facing Northern slopes that can only be reached by the fiercest, most nimble of cars, the Fiat Panda 4x4, preferably one from the 70’s or 80’s, much to our joy this is the car Luca directed us towards!

We spent the next hour rattling round single dirt track roads without much care for how close our lives were to ending, 5 of us in the smallest car ever made, of which 3 of us were a comfortable 6ft+ Jo perched between us like a rose between thorns..

Back in the comfort of the cellar we tasted through the wines with Luca, which included the Rosato & Bianco which had evaded me until now, they were right on the top of my list to taste & absolutely delivered. The wines of Barbacan are ethereal, they all show a beautiful poise and are very terroir driven. The way Barbacan work is with utmost respect for the land, everything is beyond organic and there is no rush in the cellar, natural fermentation, the wines are very elegant and we love them here at Chester’s. We currently have the Rosso Alpi Retiche in store, and have managed to secure some Rosato & Bianco, but they wont be shipped until later in the year, shout if interested!

Faso Dirupi

Ah, Faso Dirupi, if only we could bottle his energy & enthusiam, we would be rich! What a character, a real livewire that was known throughout the Valley as the main man to ‘make party’ with.. not only this, he happens to be a generational talent in the vineyards also.

Faso’s story is quite unique, he is 1st generation winemaker. Hard to do in a place like Valtellina, he studied Oenology in the local university and started to make wine from peoples vineyards he would offer to work for free. In time these people trusted him enough to hand over the vines to him and start his project. He has some truly beautiful spots now, none more so than what must be his favourite site, Gres in Grumello. Gres would be a premier cru site if there was such a thing, we spent time here learning about Faso’s journey & his passion for the region. I was lost in his words and also terrified about the car journey back down the mountain where I had to try and keep up with him..

We arrived back to the ‘Castle’ Dirupi cellar, an amazing place which he has/is in the process of restoring. The cellars are ancient, dark and we spend a good bit of time tasting from the barrels, not quite sure what was what because everything is a bit chaotic in Faso’s presence, in a good way! The wines are bright with plenty of energy, much like the winemaker if you like… the Szforzato the biggest hit here!

After we finished tasting, Faso was devastated to hear that we didn’t have anywhere booked for dinner, a few chaotic phone calls later he derived a plan, meet me at my friends place in town for 8pm, he will cook dinner and we can drink great wine! Such place happens to be Terravino.. Much to our delight, Terra had knocked up an incredible pot of Calabrian pasta, beautiful tomato sauce base with chilli & anchovies and the odd potato for good measure, absolutely delicious, not just for us, but everyone in the bar was welcome to grab a bowl, Damian now holds the record for most bowls of pasta eaten in Terravino, 4 bowls.. & in true hospitality style proceeded to do the dishes whilst we all nailed some Emidio Pepe amongst other bottles.. a cracking end to a wonderful day!

Marco Ferrari

Day 3, another cold water plunge, more coffee and we are set for the day, our first visit seen us arrive at the cellar of Marco Ferrari, I was already aware of how good this trip could be but to watch the guys experience it for the 1st time brought back the magic even more.

Marco Ferrari, another wonderful character, greets us at his cellar door, rollie in mouth with another one being rolled at the same time, the coolest Persol sunglasses I’ve ever seen and Valtellina winemaker attire in full flow. He has an air of cool about him, as do his wines.

We first go for a drive to his vineyards in the Inferno Cru, spend some time in the vines talking biodynamics, viticulture and his vision for the wines, chomping at the bit to taste the wines we head to his cellar.

Now Marco is a pretty open guy & is more than happy for us to taste everything in the cellar, back vintages, current vintages, wines that are still in barrel. It feels quite a momentous occasion, the wines are really showing well, he has a energy that shows in the wines, but a humbleness that is also reflected in the wine, much like Marco the wines are pure, honest and generous. Our favourite wines of the week, Inferno 2021 is insane, the Rosso 2023 a beauty, glorious in fruit, tension and elegance.

I noticed a sort of shine to wine in the cellar old bottles of some of my favourite growers, from all over but mainly the Rhone, where Marco ‘cut his teeth’ working with legends such as Franck Balthazar & Verset, there’s the link.. he still goes back to help to this day!

We leave from Marco’s and head to his dear friend and grower Marino Lanzini, after a tour of Lanzini’s cellar we head to the most idillic spot in the vines for lunch, Marino is a quiet thoughtful man that is far more than just a winemaker, he is a true farmer, everything we ate at lunch was farmed by his and his families hand, bread, butter, mountain cheese’s, charcuterie and of course wine..The Lanzini wine was fantastic and probably my favourite Szforzato wine we tasted all week. Whilst eating cherries directly from the trees and swapping stories & glasses over a long lunch I start to forget this is a work trip and start to imagine buying that old farm house on the horizon and settling in this valley… I could push the cattle up the mountains and lend a hand in the vines, work at Terravino.. one day :)

But we still have one more visit to do, so I drag the guys away, and I mean drag... leaving Marco and Marino in situ, there’s a good chance they are still there imbibing away..

Sandrofay

Sandrofay, always a pleasure to visit, Elena is an absolute superstar and never fails to be the most amazing host, I know these wine so well and I’m probably starting to annoy Elena by going back all the time. This is a different operation than some of our other visits, smooth and slick, they know the drill here, the wines are great and they are further down their journey than some of the other guys. The tour of the vineyards is a good one, they have some spectacular sites, a beautiful winery and the wines always deliver, these are beautifully classic examples that cellar very well. The Valgella Rosso is a really great way into the wines!

For dinner we are taken to a wonderful restaurant which is run by Elena’s husband, we were very luck to taste some 20 year wines that were absolutely amazing , knocked back with a Florentine steak, a perfect way to finish our week :)

The wines from most of these growers are now in stock along with a few other growers that we didn’t visit this time, notably the ArPepe wines.

Sandrofay Valgella 2021 £30 per bottle

ARPEPE Rosso di Valtellina 2023 £33 per bottle

Barbacan Rosso 2021 £37 per bottle

Marco Ferrari Rosso 2023 £41 per bottle

Sandrofay Il Glicine 2021 £40 per bottle

ARPEPE Grumello Rocca de Piro £44 per bottlle

Marco Ferrari Inferno 2021 £60 per bottle

Please do give us a shout or pop by if you’d like to know more or pick up a bottle :)