2006 Morgex et de La Salle Vini Estremi Vallée d'Aoste DOC Italy. Chambers Street Wine, Lyle/Asimov bottle. $16.99 Imported by Polaner. 11.5% alcohol. 100% Prié Blanc grown on original rootstock; phylloxera louse normally winter kills.
Very pale yellow color, clear hue, delicate yet impressive aromas, very crisp acidity, medium finish. Very distinctive, and surprisingly delicious. I had had the impression that wines from Vallée d'Aoste didn't taste very great -- thin and acidic according to my notes -- based on a trip to the area several years ago. This wine proved me wrong. 4*.
Regards, Bob
Notes: The front label in Italian was for the Vini Estremi 2006; the back label in English was for the Vallée d'Aoste Blanc 2006. Chambers and I went with the Estremi.
Winery: http://www.caveduvinblanc.com/ English version was not loading today; the Italian version has fascinating pictures.
Polaner: Sourced from the most extreme areas of the vineyard and fermented with native yeasts, this is a wine that is truly extreme (“estremo”) in the very special sensations it provides: intense aromas of mountain flowers, firm acidity and a minerally, salty finish.
Polaner: In 1983, La Cave du Vin Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle was founded. In an attempt to save viticulture from certain extinction in the rugged mountain communes of Morgex and La Salle, the regional government of Valle d'Aosta provided the funding necessary to install a large, well-equipped cellar in 1989. The move symbolized a fresh beginning for a region that proved its merits long ago. The small production of the region is dominated by La Cave, which unites 90 growers who cultivate this unusual grape on tiny, fragmented parcels in the highest vineyards in Europe (reaching up to 3,937 feet), planted directly under the snowy peak of Mont Blanc that separates Valle d'Aosta from France. The sheer beauty of these soaring mountain vineyards is made even more arresting by a time-honored system called pergola bassa, or low pergola, where the vines are trained near the ground in trellised arbors with stone columns surrounded by stone walls. According to La Cave's winemaker Gianluca Telloli, "The low pergola has been used for centuries here because it protects the vines from wind and heavy snowfall, while allowing them to benefit from heat accumulated in the ground during the daytime." Yet the low pergola presents many difficulties, too. Harvesters must pick the grapes on their knees and, in some cases, while laying flat on their backs. Telloli explains that the stone walls surrounding individual plots and the enormous piles of rocks heaped in a seemingly haphazard manner among the terraces have a function beyond aesthetics. "Centuries ago, the peasants realized how important the heat conducting capabilities of the stones were. We've kept the ancient stone walls and rocks because they really help retain heat during the cool nights, which is crucial for the grapes' maturation." http://208.56.36.165/producer.php?pID=1704