Sassella Valtellina Superiore DOCG 2015

Rainoldi is Valtellina's Nebbiolo. The wines of Rainoldi pay homage to their ancestors through the terracing and carrying on the local viticultural tradition. A range of wines that glorify and honor the local culture, yet strives to innovate and improve, to diversify and offer a selection of high quality wines.

The winery was founded by Giuseppe Rainoldi in 1925, in the suburb of Casacce, near Chiuro in Valtellina, and was named after Giuseppe's son. Valtellina is a mountainous valley that stretches from East to West in Nothern Italy. It is the second largest area in the world for of Nebbiolo. Here, the vine variety Nebbiolo - locally called Chiavennasca - can offer scented, highly elegant and ageable wines.

About the Vineyard

Sassella is the product of the best-known Valtellina Superiore’s subzone. Rich in iron rock with sub-acidic reaction. The wine ages in Slavonian oak barrels for about 20 months, then bottle aged for nine months before release. Grapes: Nebbiolo (Chiavennasca).

Wine Production

Rainoldi strives to produce top quality wine that respects both family tradition, and the environment. Each parcel is harvested based on its altitude in order to maintain the right ripeness, and is vinified separately in a newly installed high-tech winemaking cellar. Due to the extreme steepness of each parcel in Valtellina, grapes are hand harvested and then carried out by helicopter.

Tasting Notes

Delicate aroma, predominantly fruity, spicy and with pot-pourri hints. In the mouth it tastes particularly harmonious, velvet-smooth and lingering.

Food Pairing

This wine matches very well with red meat, game and cheese.

Vineyard & Production Info

Soil composition:

Iron-rich and Rocky

Training method:

Guyot Arch-trained

Exposure:

Southern

Average Vine Age:

55 years

Harvest time:

early October

First vintage of this wine:

1925

Bottles produced of this wine:

20,600

Winemaking & Aging

Varietal composition:

100% Nebbiolo

Fermentation container:

Stainless steel tanks

Maceration technique:

Punchdown and Pumpovers

Fining agent:

Animal based

Size of aging container:

26 hl, 56 hl, 115 hl

Type of oak:

Slavonian & French

Length of aging before bottling:

18-20 months

Length of bottle aging:

6-9 months

Analytical Data

Alcohol:

12.8 %

pH level:

3.6

Residual sugar:

<1 g/L

Acidity:

5.4 g/L

Dry extract:

27.8 g/L