Diego Curtaz Torrette Vallée d'Aoste 2019

This is a wildly delicious and rare Italian red from the mountainous Valle d'Aoste region in northwestern Italy. It is bordered by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France, to the west, Valais, Switzerland, to the north, and by Piedmont, Italy, to the south and east. Made of local grapes planted in stony loamy soils : 75% Petit Rouge, 5% Mayolet, 10% Vien de Nus and 10% Premetta. Only 208 cases were produced of this special beauty.   

Diego Curtaz took over the family company from his grandfather in 1981. Located in the village of Gressan, he owns 1 hectare of vines divided in three separate plots. They are on northern exposure lower slopes (10% to 25% slope), with stony and loamy soil, up to 650 to 750 meters above sea level. Diego also cultivates 1.5 ha of apple and pear orchards. His total production is tiny, under 600 cases.

The Vallée d'Aoste is Italy's smallest winemaking region both in terms of size and production. Located on the far northwest of Italy, bordering on Switzerland, it is home to the highest elevated vineyards in all of Europe. Surrounded by the Alps, it is so remote that people still speak a dialect of French/Provencal they call patoué. Seventy five percent of the area's production is red wine made mostly from the Pinot Noir, Gamay and Petit Rouge varieties. 

Vinification: the grapes are completely destemmed. After about 24 hours, fermentation begins in an open vat; a partial remontage is executed twice a day. After 10 days, the wine is racked and placed in botti of fiberglass and stainless steel, in which it remains at a constant temperature of 68F until the malolactic fermentation begins. The wine is decanted and left to rest until Easter, at a temperature of about 50F. It is bottled after a light filtration through cardboard and spends a couple more months in bottle before being released early June.