Ar. Pe. Pe. Sassella Nouva Regina Riserva 2013 (750ML)

96 WE / 95 WA

#22 Wine Enthusiast's Top 100 Cellar Selections of 2022

Loaded with finesse and energy and still youthfully austere, this linear, structured red offers tart cranberry, blood orange and star anise sensations. A vein of salty mineral provides the backdrop while fine-grained tannins provide elegant structure and support. Racy acidity keeps it balanced. Give it time to fully develop and blossom into even more of a beauty. Drink 2025–2035. Kerin O’Keefe, Wine Enthusiast

A release of about 6,000 bottles, the Ar. Pe. Pe. 2013 Valtellina Superiore Riserva Sassella Nuova Regina draws its fruit from terraced vineyards delineated by rocky drywalls. The vines are at least 50 years old and planted in friable metamorphic rock or gneiss shaped by glaciers. This wine is made in a highly traditional manner with extended skin maceration in oak casks, and all the harvest work is done by hand. This is a true beauty with enormous finesse and a deep well of aromatic nuances that center around wild berries, blue flowers and iron ore. The wine is carefully aged with fine and silky tannins. It tastes great, so if you have a bottle you can drink it now or wait longer if that is your pleasure.-Monica Larner, Wine Advocate