The Top Wines of the Aosta Valley Region
What are the Aosta Valley's best wines?...Aosta Valley Vineyard
There are two reasons that make it more difficult to write about the top-of-the-line wines in the Aosta Valley of Italy compared to writing about such wines coming from other Italian regions. The major reason is that these wines are rarely exported to North America. Given the fact that this beautiful, Alpine region tucked in the northeastern corner of Italy has a population of only 120,000 and ranks 20th out of 20 Italian regions in both the acreage devoted to grapevines and the actual amount of wine produced, we shouldn't be surprised.
Another reason is that the region uses a single wine appellation, the Valle d'Aosta (DOC), encompassing 23 styles of wine, including international varietals, such as Chardonnay, Gamay, and Pinot Noir, Italian varietals, such as Picotendro (a local version of the Italy's greatest red variety, Nebbiolo), the local red Petit Rouge, and the local white Petite Arvine. This classification also includes seven geographically designed zones, namely: Arnad-Motjovet, Arvier, Chambave, Donnas, Mergex / La Salle, Nus, and Torrette.
The white wines may be dry, frizzante (fizzy), spumante (sparkling), or sweet, in which case they are usually late harvest. Some of the white styles are aged up to twelve months. Of course, each style entails its own specifications defining the permitted grape varieties. Usually the grape variety appearing on the label comprises at least 70% of the wine.
The red wines are dry. Some are aged up to 30 months. There are a few rosés. If I had my choice, I'd try a Donnas Superiore, a dry red wine aged for 30 months, with at least 85% Picotendo (Nebbiolo). So on my next trip to northern Italy...
See I Love Italian Wine and Food - The Aosta Valley Region - Piedmont Wine for a review of a Nebbiolo wine from the nearby Piedmont region.