2007 Sassella, Le Tense, Nino Negri
(6x75cl)
| Product Code: | 33116107 |
| Description: | 2007 Sassella, Le Tense, Nino Negri |
| Case Size: | 6x75cl |
| Producer: | Nino Negri |
| Region: | Lombardia |
| Country: | Italy |
| Alc. By Vol.: | 13.5 |
Grape Varieties
| 100% | Chiavennasca |
Ageing Potential:
Optimum keeping: 4-5 years in bottles stored horizontally in cool, dark conditions.
Food Matching Note:
Food matches: lamb, kid, game, roasted red meats, mature cheeses (bitto). Serving temperature: 20°C.
Tasting Note:
Ruby red colour with garnet hues; intense, elegant bouquet with hints of raspberry preserve, resin and tar and suggestions of dried flowers (roses and violets) and of cloves; dry, firm, balanced flavour with a distinctive, lingering aftertaste of prunes and toasted almonds.
Vinification Note:
The climate in Valtellina creates specific problems in vinification terms: the temperature in the cellar at time of picking is ca. 12° so the must macerates with the skins, but do not start fermenting! It has to be heated to 32° to start fermenting and this is done with special vinifiers.
Before fermentation end, part of the must is transferred into American and French oak barriques where fermentation ends. It will stay 8 months in the American barriques and 11 months in the French one.
This vinification process is not traditional and is the fruit of experiments conducted since the 1992 vintage.
Detailed Vinification Note:
The producer is Nino Negri, who is based in Valterllina, a valley North East of Lake Como, at the swiss border. It is a country of steep mountains.
Valtellina Superiore is a D.O.C. with small cur-like sub denominations as Sassella and Inferno.
Negri owns 8 hectares in Sassella.
The grape used in Valterllina is Chiavennasca which is the local dialectal name for Nebbiolo (of Barolo fame).
Le Tense is a micro-vinification of one of the best vineyards amongst those owned by Negri in Sassella.
Vinification: the climate of Valtellina creates specific problems in vinification terms: the temperature in the cellar at time of picking is ca. 12° so the must macerates with the skins, but do not start fermenting! It has to be heated to 32° to start fermenting and this is done with special vinifiers.
Before fermentation end, part of the must is transferred into American and French oak barriques where fermentation ends. It will stay 8 months in the American barriques and 11 months in the French one.
This vinification process is not traditional and is the fruit of experiments conducted since the 1992 vintage.
Valtellina is an area whose commercial potential was limited to Italian restaurants, preferably those with a Valtellinese owner.
Negri’s challenge is to produce a quality wine that would appeal to all palates in order to promote the region as a whole. Except for Sfursat (Amarone type of vinification), Le Tense is the first attempt to produce an international wine in Valtellina.
The name Tense is a dialectal word meaning protected. In the 17th century, vineyards in Valtellina were so much valued that they had to be protected by guards.