Vanessa

9.5

Melt my heart. This wine is stunning.

ARPEPE Sassella “Rocce Rosse” Riserva 2013—an outstanding expression of Nebbiolo from the Valtellina Superiore DOCG.

🏔️ Valtellina is a northerly district in Lombardy, Italy, bordering Switzerland. It boasts a majestic alpine mountain-scape w/ terraced vineyards perched on the steep slopes of the Alps, surrounding an oasis of sunshine on the valley floor.

Valtellina is famous for its perfumed & elegant wines made mostly from Nebbiolo (locally ‘Chiavennasca’).

🍷 This 2013 is 100% Chiavennasca from a site at 400-500 meters elevation in the Sassella subzone.

🍒It offers pronounced aromas & flavors of dark cherry, bright raspberry, mulberry, pomegranate, fig, strawberry rhubarb, potpourri, black tea, star anise, fennel, peat, olive tapenade, vanilla, cardamom, nutmeg & forest floor.

😍 On the palate, it is lifted & ethereal w/ mouth-watering acidity & velveteen tannins that support a lingering finish. A BEAUTIFUL wine. — 8 days ago

with Deked1

Matt Perlman

9.3

This is, as expected, the more structured between the Sassella and the Grumello of the same vintage, but on this night actually preferred the latter. — 7 months ago

Matthew Cohen

9.7

NEEDS a 45 minute decant.

N: sensual. Sexy. Wild cherry and blackberry. Liquor. Intense. Savory.

P: sweet wildblackberry. Silky. Explosive. So good. — 7 months ago

Seth Masterson

9.2

Delicious Chocolate over dried fruit notes with nice dry floral notes. A very nice nebbiolo without face ripping tannins- a good sipper but also would pair well with the lighter side of Italian foods. — 9 months ago

Aaron Tan

9.2

The 16’ Ultimi Raggi, though impressive, just had to bow out to the Vrana Petra. Both shared vibrant red fruit aromas and dried florals, but the Ultimi Raggi leaned into richer, plummy notes with chocolate, nutty warmth, and a balsamic edge. On the palate, both wines were similarly intense, yet the Vrana Petra’s mineral-driven elegance outpaced the Ultimi Raggi’s richness. Towards the end of the night, the Ultimi Raggi’s austere tannins became very pronounced, rendering it a bit more challenging to drink. Both excellent wines, but in it was the Vrana Petra that took the cake at this stage with its clarity and poise. I can’t say this wasn’t expected though, given the Ultimi Raggi’s late-harvest nature. If anything, it did provide excellent context for the “Barolo of Greece” claims attached to the Vrana Petra. — 2 years ago

Matthew Cohen

9.4

Nose is so sexy. Sexy cherries and roses. Pink and red roses hand crushed and jammed in your face. As it opens more dusty roses

Palate is sexy cherries. Pink rose internal aromatics. So juicy. A bit bitter. So good.

— 4 years ago

Zach D

9.6

I thought it would be fitting to pop this as it was harvested Oct 17 2017, exactly 9 years ago. Still very fresh strawberry compote, fresh and dried roses, fresh porcini, tar on the nose. Excellent acidity, depth, silky tannins on the palate; confirming everything on the nose. Great length. Fantastic wine, possibly at its apex if you like a balance between fruit and earth. — 12 days ago

Conrad Green

9.1

Lovely fruit. Cherry and violet and lifted fragrance. Light mid palate — 6 months ago

with Peter and Gregg

Marc Karetsky

9.5

Love this maker. Classic Nebbiolo. — 7 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of two days. Gorgeous on both days. The 2019 Grumello “Rocco de Piro”pours a brilliant, ruby color with a transparent core and a slightly watery rim; medium viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with gorgeous notes of cool, fresh raspberries, roses with babies breath, Alpine herbs, cedar chest, and rocky earth. On the palate the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+ and the texture is silky. Such a beautiful and elegant expression of Chiavennasca. Drink now through 2034. Thanks for the assist @Lyle Fass — 9 months ago

David D

9.0

Bone dry! Medium–light. Lots of minerals and wet steel, not surprising for an Alpine wine. Graphite, crunchy red fruit, touch of baking spice, brambles. From a new producer that had worked with Ar.Pe.Pe. From Flatiron Wines. 11/27/22. — 4 years ago

Paco Suro

9.0

Rustic. Light. Yummy. — 4 years ago

Benjamin Hickey

9.3

Light but has depth and persistence — 5 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.6

Stunning, vividly three-dimensional nose of red cherry, tar, roses, sweet spice, desiccated leaves and orange rind, with extraordinary complexity and purity right out of the gates. The palate is juicy, complete and deeply terroir-driven, with explosive tiny-berry fruit intensity, painful concentration, unbelievable finesse, velvety sweet tannins and tremendous length. Still needs around 30 minutes to fully knit together, but the depth, clarity and architecture are already remarkable. — 2 months ago

Michael

9.3

Needs time but wow — 2 months ago

Matt Perlman

9.4

More open knit than the Sassella, total deliciousness and high toned elegance — 7 months ago

romo

9.2

First bottle three years ago had more energy. Went sour on day 2. — 7 months ago

Phil Kessling

9.2

These are some of my favorite Mountain Nebbiolo. ArPePe actually ages the Riserva before releasing. — 10 months ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

This is a large-auditorium college intro class in Valtellina Nebbiolo. (In contrast to a graduate seminar led by Professor Marsetti or Professor Ar.Pe.Pe.) Loads of dried cherry fruit and winey old barrel scents on the nose. A bit of faded rose petals and stone. The light color looks fairly advanced. The palate is openly fruited initially, but has a bit of a tannic clench at the end. So the balance to be struck is drinking while the fruit is so nice but waiting to see if the tannins drop and soften. Not a long term project. Enjoy over the next few years would be my take, but I tend to favor things on the younger side. — a year ago

Chris Buggy

9.1

Beautiful. Nice bright cherry and dark fruit, balanced tannins. Restrained Nebbiolo, a pleasure to enjoy. — 5 years ago