Tried this last night w/ Susan & Grayson:
1. Rainoldi Fruttaio Ca'Rizzieri DOCG: Sfursat di Valtellina (15.5%; Winebow/NYC; rainoldi.com/en/) Aldo Rainoldi/Chiuro/Valtelline 2016: Med.dark color;
fairly strong rich/ripe/licorice/Nebb/pungent light floral/lilacs/Nebb/violets some earthy/loamy light pencilly/oak slight herbal bit alcoholic some complex nose;
quite tart/tangy bit alcoholic strong Nebb/licorice/pungent quite rich bit earthy/herbal bit complex flavor w/ ample chewey/ripe tannins; very long/lingering very strong
Nebb/licorice/pungent bit tarry strong ripe/Nebb/lilacs/floral bit fumey some complex finish w/ some chewey/ripe tannins; one of the better Valtelline Sfursats I've
had in a number of yrs; badly needs some age; not as rich & late harvesty or like a Recioto as many & a modest step above a regular Valtelline Cru Nebb;
pretty pricey for what it is at $70.00 (AV)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. This wine is a passito/Amarone wine made by drying the grapes in a specially ventilated room (Fruttaio) until they lose a third of their weight. They are then fermented
out to dryness much like Valpolicella Recioto. I first fell in love w/ Valtelline Nebbs back in the early '70's when I first had the A.Pellizatti Nebs (a name now owned by
Nino Negri), in particularly a Sfursat from the late '60's. Those wines pretty much launched my love for Nebb.
This Sfursat was one of the best I've had since I visited the Valtelline some 5 yrs ago. As usual, they are quite expensive. That said, this was only a small step above a Castelli
or a Palmina or a DueVigne at 3X the price.
Tom