Sforzato della Valtellina Dell'Orco, Rivetti & Lauro (75cl)

The Sforzato della Valtellina is a very little known, great, Italian red wine, even amongst Italians, due to its very limited production.

Sforzato, in Italian "forced", indicates that Nebbiolo grapes from the Valtellina are let drying for about 3 months after being harvested to eliminate any residual water and concentrate the fruit, to enhance its aromas and flavours. The process is very similar to the Amarone della Valpolicella or "appassimento, and compared to a normal Barolo, also made with 100% Nebbiolo grapes, the Sforzato della Valtellina has more fruit, softer tannins and higher acidity due to the Nebbiolo grapes being grown on the mountains of the Valtellina, north of Lombardy. The wine is then aged for 30 months in wood before being released.

We tasted this wine by chance at the Vinitaly, we were just walking around and decided to visit the booth of the producer, but after tasting it, we could not walk away from it.The Sforzato della Valtellina is a great red wine, full bodied, elegant, complex, plenty of fruit, smooth, and just to confirm that we have a nose for great wines, a few months after we started importing it, the wine was awarded Gold medal at the Decanter Wine Awards.

Enjoy on its own, sip by sip, or drink with some mature cheese

Rivetti & Lauro is a dream come true. The Valtellina is a mountainous area with vineyards planted on terraces where everything is done manually, including harvesting, and in these mountains Rivetti & Lauro, two friends, decided to follow their dream and passion and making wine. The Nebbiolo is their main grape, Nebbiolo is a great grape that gives it best on these extreme climates, vinified in red and white, but are slowly introducing new grapes to be blended with the Nebbiolo to produce even more outstanding wines.