Sforzato di Valtellina DOCG

Barbacàn

Sforzato is a mindbending wine, a secret kept as quietly as possible by the many Nebbiolo acolytes that know about it. Paradoxically, Sforzato hails from the Valtellina, where Nebbiolo is its most gentle and elegant. Yet this wine is the most Goliath of its expressions. It is a mythic mountain ferment, hauled out and hidden proudly in the cellars of devoted collectors everywhere. Sforzato, meaning strained, refers to the appassimento method, akin to the well-known wines of Amarone della Valpolicella. After harvest, the Chiavennasca is laid out on mats to raisinate, drying naturally over about two months. The ‘Breva’ wind that famously whips through the Valtellina mountain pass keeps these precious grapes safe from decay. Once the water in the grapes has half evaporated, the wine is pressed for a much heavier must. This precious juice is then fermented naturally without additions or manipulations of any sort. The ferment spends 18 months in French oak barrique before being bottled for at least 12 months of additional aging before release. The resulting wine is the pinnacle of concentration and intensity from these glorious slopes. Warm, rich, and intoxicating, the cool mountain acidity scaffolds the wine, preventing its concentration and 15% ABV from overwhelming the palate. These are extremely age worthy and invigorating wines we count ourselves blessed to import.