Quite light garnet , wide terracotta rim . Quite a lot of smoky sous bois, with some light red fruits, sweet dry spices , touch of hickory . On the palate this is pretty evolved and has started to dry out slightly , with some some sweet red currant , dried spices, salty acidity and resolved tannin . Ok , slate tinged finish . Drink now , and probably would have been better a few years ago . — 8 months ago
This is the 2013 Ar.Pe.Pe Valtellina Superiore Sassella Riserva ‘Nuova Regina’. It’s 100% Chiavennasca and aged 39 months in cask.
It is PALE ruby in color with pronounced aromas and flavors of red and black cherry, bright raspberry, mulberry, pomegranate, purple fig, stewed strawberry rhubarb, rose, potpourri, black licorice, black tea, anise seed, fennel, tri-colored peppercorns, peat, vanilla, cardamom, nutmeg, forest floor, and mushroom.
On the palate, this wine is dry, w/ medium (+) acidity, a medium body, medium alcohol (13% ABV), & medium (+) tannins that are smooth and velveteen; it has a lingering finish.
It’s an outstanding wine, incredibly fresh now with runway to age & gain complexity in the bottle. — 10 months ago

2020/5/24 with grilled ribeye, eringi with fennel, tarragon and chives, whitebait aglio olio and radicchio salad. This had a wonderful balance of taut structure and fruit intensity, while still remaining light and translucent. That, with the red fruit and spice nose, gave it an almost Burgundian feel - it was also quite distinct from the other Fay bottles. — 5 years ago
Medium bodied, rich and juicy for a Valtellina. Savory & mineral, dried roses, cherries, prune, tobacco, some oak, anise. From Flatiron Wines. — 6 years ago
Holiday digestif. Always welcome. — 7 years ago
Needs an hour decant. Prior to that discombobulated.
Immensely age worthy.
Nose: exquisite. Virgin pink roses. White flowers. The musk of beauty. So precise.
Hint of orange peel as it opens.
Palate: this ephemeral embryo of a cherry. Hint of cocoa. Silky. Just perfect.
Fass selections — 5 months ago
Amazingly tight for a 16-year old wine. The acids are smell-able on the nose, zinging along tart, macerated wild cherry fruit and glacier-crushed rock fragments. (OK, maybe I’m making up the part about how the crushed rocks were created.) In the mouth it’s deep but the acids rip this along on the palate like a whitewater canoe ride. Really really unique and good. — 9 months ago

Light but has depth and persistence — 4 years ago
Delish, bold red from up north. Purchased on our Lago di Como trip. — 6 years ago
Light just like I like it — 7 years ago
Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of three days. Best on Day 1 and 2. The 2017 Inferno, Fiamme Antiche pours a deep garnet color with a transparent core; medium viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe and tart fruit: Morello cherry, roses, espresso, leather, alpine herbs and granitic earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. Elegant and ever so lovely. Drink now through 2037. Only 6,206 bottles produced. — 6 months ago
I’ll stand by my June 24, 2021 rating. Consistently great. — 4 years ago
Rutabaga and charcoal and hen of the woods and cherry garcia. Yeah there is a little VA but it’s not intrusive. Maybe more wild than some of their other stuff but still that mountain freshness — 5 years ago
Not as intense as a Barolo; I would say more balanced. Great with earthy food. — 7 years ago
Kland Aida
A very good Valtellina Nebbiolo. Dry and tannic. Oak, leather, red fruit. Some licorice? Ruby color. May 2025. — 4 months ago