Arpepe Sassella Ultimi Raggi Riserva 2016

Ar.Pe.Pe. Sassella Ultimi Raggi Riserva 2016
Valtellina Superiore DOCG – Late-harvest Alpine Nebbiolo
Heroic viticulture above 600m | Riserva | Pure mountain soul

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Description
Ar.Pe.Pe. (Arturo Pelizzatti Perego) is a family-run jewel of mountain viticulture, nestled between the Rhaetian and Orobie Alps in northern Lombardy. In this dramatic and breathtaking corner of Italy, Nebbiolo — locally known as Chiavennasca — is grown on sheer granite terraces carved since Roman times.

Now in the hands of the fourth generation — siblings Isabella, Emanuele, and Guido — the winery produces soulful, long-lived wines that reveal Nebbiolo’s alpine facet: pure, elegant, mineral, and utterly unique.

Ultimi Raggi (“last rays”) is perhaps the most poetic and singular expression from Ar.Pe.Pe. It comes from the highest vineyards in Sassella, over 600 meters above sea level, where grapes are harvested at the edge of possibility — late in the season, ripened by the final golden rays of autumn sun.

This late-harvest mountain Nebbiolo is a rare fusion of power and grace, with remarkable concentration and a meditative soul.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Technical Details
Producer: Ar.Pe.Pe. (Arturo Pelizzatti Perego)
Region: Valtellina Superiore DOCG – Lombardia, Italy
Vineyard: Upper Sassella zone (above 600m altitude)
Grape: 100% Nebbiolo (Chiavennasca)
Soil: Decomposed granite
Viticulture: Heroic, organic, without synthetic products
Harvest: Late (October–November)
Maceration: Traditional, long and slow in large wooden vats
Aging: Extended aging in large oak casks and concrete
Farming: Manual and low-intervention

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Tasting Notes
Deep ruby with orange-tinged hues. The bouquet is complex and evocative: macerated wild berries, incense, forest floor, fine leather, and dried alpine flowers.

On the palate, it’s seamless and elegant, with silky tannins, vibrant acidity, and a very long, contemplative finish. This is a wine of inner light and outer restraint — a masterpiece of altitude, timing, and tradition.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Suggested Pairings
– Ossobuco with saffron risotto
– Game dishes (partridge, hare)
– Dishes with wild mushrooms
– Aged alpine cheeses (e.g. aged Taleggio, Castelmagno)