Azienda Boffalora - Valtellina, Italy

A long way down.

VALTELLINA: LAND OF PROMISE
 

As they might say in New England, Valtellina is "wicked beautiful." More important for wine lovers, Valtellina is heaven for incredibly delicious Nebbiolo.

Team E&R has visited Lombardia's Valtellina region six times and in all seasons. Overall, we've logged some forty winery visits to the region. On our last alone, we've spent time with ten new Valtellina producers - none now in Oregon, and less than half at all in America. We're not patting ourselves on the back; rather, we want to note we're beginning to get a feel for the place.

The wine zone of the region is both big and small. The big part is its crescent-shaped length from Chiavenna in the NW to near Bormio in the NE. The small part is its total wine production area, where it is slight, varied and singular. Like Burgundy, vineyards are stretched long and thin, but unlike Burgundy, there are large gaps in the stretches. Valtellina's vineyards are unique in the Italian north; contrary, they run east-west vs. north-south like Alto-Adige or most of Aosta. Valtellina is bordered by Switzerland, where Aosta is primarily with France, and Alto-Adige mostly with Austria.

INTRODUCING AZIENDA BOFFALORA...
LOOK OUT BARBARESCO & BAROLO!

Beppe and a barrel.

Since 2002, Valtellina's super talented Gugliemo Giuseppe - Beppe, as he prefers - has worked his steep Nebbiolo vineyards which range in elevation from 1400 feet to 4000 feet high. His terraced vines are in the entrancingly gorgeous Valtellina Superiore appellation near his home town of Castione Andevenno. Beppe, who also tends bees in his vineyards, took over winemaking full time in 2008 with his first commercial releases. Prior to 2008, Beppe's late father-in-law had been selling his 100% Nebbiolo grapes to a local co-op. The work there is exceedingly hard, heroic as some call it. For example, producing Barolo in famed Monforte d'Alba requires about 330 hours of labor per hectare (approx 2.5 acres), while the same work in Valtellina takes over 1200 hours.

Helicopter below.

Beppe's Azienda "Boffalora" takes its name from his vineyard which is buffeted by the "Breva" winds from the neighboring Alps and the Tirano winds off Lake Como. The climate in the well ventilated micro-climate is perfect for grapes with its wide temperature range between day to night. As Beppe told us, his vines get the same amount of sun as being in Sicily- as their local cactus and thyme bushes attest - but they stay much cooler at night and the elevation also plays a key role. Beppe is a believer in, and is committed to, full scale biodiversity in his vineyards. He is one of a very few growers in the region working organically and his vineyards are currently under conversion for official certification. 

Friend of the family.

Beppe's Nebbiolo production is modest, about 700 cases per year (we get 18!), made from vines mostly from ancient stock. Because of the age of the vines - ranging from 40 to 100 (!) years - Beppe's wines have a boost of personality  from the convergence of several different, and many now rare, Nebbiolo clones, most of which his neighbors do not have. These wines deliciously demonstrate how perfectly adjusted Beppe's old vines are to Valtellina's unique and extreme landscape, where they are undeniably happy in the sandy, rock-strewn soil. 

When in stock, wines from this producer appear below. Click on each wine for more detail.