Aosta Valley’s Elevated Touch, Plus The Rise of Finger Lakes Reds

Is Italy’s mountainous Aosta Valley region the answer to the scorching summer heat sweeping across Europe? This week, parts of Italy reached temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), while some areas of Spain hit 44. In contrast, the hottest day in Aosta barely touched 31.

“I kept asking myself as I was walking through the vineyards of the Aosta Valley if this was Italy’s answer to the high-altitude vineyards of Mendoza or Salta in Argentina,” James recalled after spending a long weekend there with his wife, Marie, in late May, en route to Burgundy to taste the 2023 vintage from bottle.

The answer, he said, is clearly “yes.” Most of the region’s 400 hectares of vineyards lie between 500 and 900 meters above sea level, climbing the slopes of dramatic alpine valleys. From many of the vines, you can see the snowcapped peaks of Monte Bianco – better known as Mont Blanc. Many plantings are on their own rootstock and some vines are decades old.

Among the most distinctive wines of the region are those made from petite arvine, a grape more commonly associated with the neighboring Valais region in Switzerland, with small plantings also found in Savoie. In Aosta, it yields tangy, high-acid whites with an almost nutty, apricot character. They’re made either in stainless steel to preserve freshness, or in wood barrels that draw out more floral and textural nuances – dried flowers, straw, apricot skin.

Still, it may be the pinot noirs and syrahs of Aosta that are most compelling. James visited Les Cretes and Rosset, where the high-elevation vineyards are pristine and the wines, like the Rosset Syrah Valle d'Aosta 870 2021, show impressive precision – delicate fruit, understated power and refined structure. At the Bellevue Hotel in Cogne, he tasted standouts from Grosjean (pinot noirs, including the Grosjean Pinot Nero Valle d'Aosta Les Frères 2022) and Anselmet (chardonnay), and was equally impressed.

Chardonnays are close behind the pinots and syrahs, with the best showing an uncanny resemblance to Burgundy, marked by a mineral tension and bright acidity that recall premier cru Chablis or Puligny-Montrachet.

“Our culture is birthed in altitude,” said Nicola Rosset, whose family owns the Rosset winery. “We understand that. Our roots are in that. This is Italy of the mountains.”

The Rise of Finger Lakes Reds

Senior Editor Stuart Pigott was vacationing in New York over the past week – not just in the city but also the beautiful Finger Lakes wine region in Upstate New York, which he first visited in 2004. Since that time, he has witnessed a winemaking revolution, with producers expanding their horizon from riesling and dry rosé to reds, especially since the 2020 vintage.

While cabernet franc is the red grape that has attracted the widest following, a number of producers have focused diligently on other grapes.

Pinot noir is a diva in the best of locations, and nobody denies this is a challenging one for it. When Stuart first tasted at the Heart and Hands Wine Company on Cayuga Lake in 2015 they had only harvested three vintages – and it showed. However, progress was very rapid after that and the last bottlings move the bar for pinot noir in the region a lot higher.

The Heart & Hands Wine Company Pinot Noir Finger Lakes Mo Chisel Estate 2022 totally astonished Stuart with its enormous concentration and refinement. This dense and filigreed masterpiece has generous aromas of cherries, blood orange and summer flowers. The finish doesn’t want to stop. And the 2023 vintage of this wine is hot on its heels! Both are limited production.

There’s much more of the same in the entry-level Heart & Hands Wine Company Pinot Noir Finger Lakes 2023, which is a beautiful wine – perfumed, elegant and silky. It shows that husband-and-wife team Tom and Susan Higgins have cracked pinot noir in a region where many said it would never give a great wine, and the alcoholic content of these wines is lower than Burgundian wines of comparable quality!

If pinot is difficult, you might think syrah would be impossible. However, the Element winery of restaurateur Christopher Bates has nailed this flag to its mast. Any doubters should try the Element Syrah Finger Lakes Estate 2022 when it is released soon. It is super structured and super focused with an astonishing spectrum of floral, pomegranate and pink peppercorn aromas. With great peppery power it blasts its way out of the established context in the region.

Saperavi, the most famous red grape from Georgia in the Caucasus, has been grown in the region for a number of years and is gaining ground. The Keuka Spring Saperavi Finger Lakes KSV Winemaker’s Reserve 2020 is clearly the most exciting example produced so far, with great power and spice on the highly structured palate. The freshness at the finish is stunning. Sadly, only just over 600 bottles of this wine were produced.

Keuka Spring was purchased in 2022 by the Simmons family, who are major vineyard owners in the region, and they have undertaken a spare-no-expense remodeling that's turned this into an impressive destination. This wine is far from being the only wine there that lives up to the new style and ambience. For winemaker Dan Bissell, this is a big step up from managing the funky Kashong Creek bar in nearby Geneva!

Classic Spanish Whites

There have been some outstanding Spanish white wines in our recent tastings, and they underline how each region in the country is finding its own voice when it comes to producing reliable offerings with depth and character – from established areas like Rioja to the Canary Islands and Ribera del Duero.

In Ribera del Duero, the brothers Rodrigo and Asier Calvo of Casa Lebai have produced an exceptional blend: the Casa Lebai Ribera del Duero La Nava 2022, which is sourced from the village of Gumiel de Mercado. This wine comes from a tiny 0.36-hectare parcel planted mainly with albillo real, along with valenciano blanco, moscatel, palomino, and pirules. The vineyard, established in 1940, is head-trained (“en vaso”) and faces east on a gentle slope of sandy soils with gravel deposits at 830 meters. Fermented in concrete amphora and aged 12 months in a 500-liter barrel, it’s a balanced, characterful wine that remains fresh yet weighty.

From Rioja, meanwhile, the Granja de Nuestra Señora de Remelluri Rioja Blanco 2022 is a classic white with its always mysterious blend of nine grape varieties sourced from the highest parts of the Remelluri estate in Labastida, just below the Sierra de Toloño. Fermented and aged in a combination of cement and French oak, the result is a singular expression in the context of Rioja: energetic, textured, chiseled and formal, and one that stood up to the challenging vintage conditions.

From the Orotava Valley in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Jonathan Garcia’s Suertes del Marqués Listán Blanco Valle de la Orotava Vidonia V.P. 2023 is one of the island’s great whites. It comes from estate vineyards in the lieu-dit Las Suertes, planted to century-old, trenzado-trained vines on volcanic soils, a system unique to the region. The wine is aged in 100 percent new oak, which is completely integrated, resulting in a floral, expressive white with a pleasant flinty, reductive touch and delineated stone fruit.

Finally, a true oddity: the Viñas del Cenit Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León Godello Viñas Viejas 2023. This comes from very old vineyards planted in Villamor, Zamora, about 200 kilometers from godello’s traditional home in Valdeorras and Bierzo – a genuine rarity in both location and vineyard composition. Grown at 900 meters altitude, the wine is made in a combination of amphora and French oak.

The result is textural, fleshy, saline and incisive. This project, benefitting from the consultation of Jose Manuel Beneitez of El Hato y el Garabato in Arribes, shows how this vast and largely unknown region in Zamora still hides remarkable gems waiting to be discovered.

– James Suckling, Stuart Pigott and Jacobo García Andrade contributed reporting.

The list of wines below is comprised of bottles tasted and rated during the past week by James Suckling and the other tasters at JamesSuckling.com. They include many latest releases not yet available on the market, but which will be available soon. Some will be included in upcoming tasting reports.

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