2019 Plozza Rosso Di Valtellina
This wine takes us to one of the most dramatic wine regions on Earth: Valtellina. Located in Lombardy, tight against
Producer
Plozza
I have reviewed one wine from Plozza: the 2019 Plozza Rosso Di Valtellina (90 points).
Bridging Switzerland and Italy’s Valtellina, Plozza has been a force in alpine Nebbiolo since 1919. It is historically significant as one of the first to market Sforzato commercially, the valley’s powerful, Amarone-style wine made from dried Nebbiolo, known locally as Chiavennasca. An early adopter of barrique in the region, it balances innovation with tradition.
Valtellina, in Lombardy tight against the Swiss border, is a home of heroic viticulture: the vines cling to steep terraces carved out of the mountain by hand over centuries, held up by dry-stone walls above the Adda river. The altitude, intense light and cool alpine breezes make Nebbiolo paler, more aromatic and lighter than in Barolo.
Plozza’s Rosso di Valtellina is perhaps the purest expression of that philosophy: Nebbiolo stripped of heaviness to reveal its mountain soul, ethereal and floral, a tribute to the farmers who maintain the terraces and a taste of the Alps as rugged and beautiful as the landscape.