Cantina Ar.Pe.Pe.

Stella Retica Sassella Valtellina Superiore Nebbiolo

9.318 ratings
9.311 pro ratings
Valtellina, Sondrio, Lombardia, Italy
Nebbiolo
Top Notes For
Severn Goodwin

2015 | Nebbiolo
Cantina AR.PE.PE; Stella Retica, Valtellina Superiore
Lombardy; Valtellina, Sassella, Italy
(92-94; Drink 2025-35)

2015 | Nebbiolo
Cantina AR.PE.PE; Stella Retica, Valtellina Superiore
Lombardy; Valtellina, Sassella, Italy
(92-94; Drink 2025-35)

Sep 23rd, 2023
Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.4

Gorgeous. Needs only 30 then slamming.

Gorgeous. Needs only 30 then slamming.

May 13th, 2023
Jay Kline

Popped and poured into hotel room glasses. Pours a very light ruby color with a transparent core; medium viscosity. On the nose, this is quite expressive with dark cherry, bruised strawberry, roses, some tar…a touch of VA. On the palate, equally impressive with pure, ripe red fruit, alpine herbs, earth and a rocky minerality. Stiff tannin and medium+ acid. Long finish. A wine with loads of character. Fantastic.

Popped and poured into hotel room glasses. Pours a very light ruby color with a transparent core; medium viscosity. On the nose, this is quite expressive with dark cherry, bruised strawberry, roses, some tar…a touch of VA. On the palate, equally impressive with pure, ripe red fruit, alpine herbs, earth and a rocky minerality. Stiff tannin and medium+ acid. Long finish. A wine with loads of character. Fantastic.

Sep 12th, 2022
Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

I love this wine and the way it evolve is is just so wonderful. This 2015 Stella Retica always starts aromatically shy. But a few flowers, some berry fruits and faint minerals are there but they are not very loud at the moment of pop and pour. The volume gets turned up very very slowly over the first 30-40 minutes and it’s very cool to follow it. The florality is just stunning and the clarity of the cherry fruit is really something. There’s a sweet mint minerality. This stuff is really like it Giacosa made Valtellina. Epic. Palate is also a young stallion right now. It’s all there but this stallion wants to be left alone in the barn. Beautiful tannins and smack down of a finish. Super concentrated. Powerful. This needs maybe 50+ minutes for the palate to catch up to the nose. But it will. I’ll be back. 9.4 now. A 9.6 nose and a 9.3 palate currently.

This got really good overnight. Deep cherry on the nose. Minerals. Wool. So vivid. Still 9.6 nose but much better and more wide. Palate is juicy and deep with luscious dark and red cherry fruit and luscious deep and ripe tannins. Pure and balanced. Wow. 9.5. Now.

I love this wine and the way it evolve is is just so wonderful. This 2015 Stella Retica always starts aromatically shy. But a few flowers, some berry fruits and faint minerals are there but they are not very loud at the moment of pop and pour. The volume gets turned up very very slowly over the first 30-40 minutes and it’s very cool to follow it. The florality is just stunning and the clarity of the cherry fruit is really something. There’s a sweet mint minerality. This stuff is really like it Giacosa made Valtellina. Epic. Palate is also a young stallion right now. It’s all there but this stallion wants to be left alone in the barn. Beautiful tannins and smack down of a finish. Super concentrated. Powerful. This needs maybe 50+ minutes for the palate to catch up to the nose. But it will. I’ll be back. 9.4 now. A 9.6 nose and a 9.3 palate currently.

This got really good overnight. Deep cherry on the nose. Minerals. Wool. So vivid. Still 9.6 nose but much better and more wide. Palate is juicy and deep with luscious dark and red cherry fruit and luscious deep and ripe tannins. Pure and balanced. Wow. 9.5. Now.

Jan 4th, 2022
web bond

Not a Riserva

Not a Riserva

Jun 29th, 2021
Darren Dittrich

Lovely alpine Nebbiolo from a terrific producer. This is a different animal than your Langhe Nebbiolo... there’s some additional ripeness, minerality, and rusticity, an expression of place and perhaps this local derivative of Nebbiolo: Chiavennasca

Lovely alpine Nebbiolo from a terrific producer. This is a different animal than your Langhe Nebbiolo... there’s some additional ripeness, minerality, and rusticity, an expression of place and perhaps this local derivative of Nebbiolo: Chiavennasca

Feb 13th, 2021
Matthew Cohen

Nose is cherry flower and dried rose petal.

Palate is really Chicoy cherries. Savory finish.

Bought from fass selections

Nose is cherry flower and dried rose petal.

Palate is really Chicoy cherries. Savory finish.

Bought from fass selections

2 people found it helpfulDec 4th, 2020
Severn Goodwin

Dinner with a fellow Chevalier after waiting out the full regime of vaccinations...notes possibly, scores honestly.

Dinner with a fellow Chevalier after waiting out the full regime of vaccinations...notes possibly, scores honestly.

1 person found it helpfulMay 8th, 2021
Andrew Schirmer

Supreme elegance, the paradox of incredible texture & weightlessness at once. Two hours in the decanter— agree with others that cherry is dominant, with all sorts of brilliant secondary notes that reveal themselves with each sip. Tannins are present but just ever so delicately undergirding the overall structure.

Supreme elegance, the paradox of incredible texture & weightlessness at once. Two hours in the decanter— agree with others that cherry is dominant, with all sorts of brilliant secondary notes that reveal themselves with each sip. Tannins are present but just ever so delicately undergirding the overall structure.

1 person found it helpfulFeb 13th, 2021
Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

God what a wine. Give this an aggressive 30 minutes in a decanter. Then enjoy. And you will enjoy. Unless you hate awesome things. Subtle spice, cherry and minerality to start but this thing is just beginning. Some florals start to emerge, some tar, some minerals. Unfurling. Smoke, BBQ spice, even some mesquite, just more and more complex each minute it is open. Stunning aromas. From 0-60 in 30 minutes for these aromas. What a ride. Palate is perfectly balanced, so nimble, elegant and graceful with awesome fruit. Red cherries that are mid to early season and a lovely complicating sour cherry aspect. Such sauve tannins. Amazing fruit density and palate presence. Such intensity. Concentrated and not heavy at all. So long and gorgeous. How is this wine this much of a value? Just brilliant!

Nose has gorgeous strawberry and licorice now.
So lithe, flavorful, intense and complex.

God what a wine. Give this an aggressive 30 minutes in a decanter. Then enjoy. And you will enjoy. Unless you hate awesome things. Subtle spice, cherry and minerality to start but this thing is just beginning. Some florals start to emerge, some tar, some minerals. Unfurling. Smoke, BBQ spice, even some mesquite, just more and more complex each minute it is open. Stunning aromas. From 0-60 in 30 minutes for these aromas. What a ride. Palate is perfectly balanced, so nimble, elegant and graceful with awesome fruit. Red cherries that are mid to early season and a lovely complicating sour cherry aspect. Such sauve tannins. Amazing fruit density and palate presence. Such intensity. Concentrated and not heavy at all. So long and gorgeous. How is this wine this much of a value? Just brilliant!

Nose has gorgeous strawberry and licorice now.
So lithe, flavorful, intense and complex.

1 person found it helpfulJan 2nd, 2021