Wine route
Strada del Vino della Valtellina
2 days, 67 km · 8 stops
Open the driveLombardy · DOCG
Valtellina Superiore DOCG Alpine Nebbiolo from Stone Terraces, Explained
Valtellina Superiore is Nebbiolo grown on stone terraces in the Alps. The vines climb the sunny north bank of the River Adda in Lombardy, between 300 and 700 metres up. The wine is mid-weight, fresh and firm, with red cherry, rose and a dusty mountain edge. Every bottle spends two years in the cellar before it goes on sale.
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£18-£142
Price range today
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Decode the label
What the label tells you
One denomination, 7 things it can say on the front. Colour first, then the qualifier.
On the label
Valtellina Superiore
the base wine, two years in the cellar
90% Nebbiolo Chiavennasca on the mountain
24 months 12 of them in wood, from 1 December
12% minimum alcohol
Fruit from anywhere on the terraces, or from two sub-zones blended, wears the plain name.
In stock from £22.80 See the 8 bottles ↓On the label
Sassella
the stony classic above Sondrio
100+ hectares Castione Andevenno to Sondrio
11.5% minimum in the grapes
Named after the Madonna della Sassella sanctuary: warm, rocky and probably the best known of the five.
In stock from £22.40 See the 8 bottles ↓On the label
Grumello
under the castle, north of Sondrio
About 80 hectares 350 to 600 metres
11.5% minimum in the grapes
A compact heart of rocky terraces beneath Grumello castle, with the Dossi Salati above it.
In stock from £18 See the 6 bottles ↓On the label
Inferno
with Sassella the warmest of the five
55 hectares 300 to 500 metres
11.5% minimum in the grapes
Its name means hell: vertiginous south-facing slopes east of Sondrio, matched only by Sassella for warmth.
In stock from £19.50 See the 5 bottles ↓On the label
Valgella
the largest, from Chiuro to Teglio
140 hectares 350 to 650 metres
11.5% minimum in the grapes
Deeper soils and less rain than its neighbours; the name comes from valgel, the small streams that cut the slope.
No bottles in stock right now
On the label
Maroggia
the smallest and most westerly
25 hectares 270 to 550 metres
11.5% minimum in the grapes
Recognised as a sub-zone in 2002, on old terraces at Berbenno, the western end of the five sub-zones.
No bottles in stock right now
On the label
Riserva
three years' rest, any zone
36 months before release
12% minimum alcohol
The same rules plus a third year in the cellar, with or without a sub-zone name on the label.
In stock from £27.12 See the 11 bottles ↓The boundary
Where it is
Everything on this page, the estates, the bottles, the sub-zones, sits inside this line.
A single sunny bank. The vines sit on the north side of the River Adda, which faces south. They run between Buglio in Monte in the west and Tirano in the east, all inside the province of Sondrio. The zone is a thin ribbon of terraces between roughly 300 and 700 metres, never the valley floor and never the shaded south bank. Along it sit the five named zones, west to east: Maroggia, Sassella, Grumello, Inferno and Valgella, each a stretch of the same slope with its own angle to the sun.
Inside the zone
5
sub-zones
300 ha
vines in the DOCG (2021)
2,500 km
dry-stone walls
300 to 700 m
terrace altitude
8 t/ha
maximum yield
1998
DOCG since
Click or tap a pin for its estate. The numbered pins match the estate cards below.
Towns worth knowing
Berbenno di Valtellina
Castione Andevenno
Sondrio
Montagna in Valtellina
Poggiridenti
Tresivio
Chiuro
Teglio
Bianzone
Tirano
Sondrio is the hub. The sub-zones start at Berbenno in the west and end at Teglio, while plain Valtellina Superiore runs on to Tirano.
In the glass
What it tastes like
Cherry
Rose petal
Violet
Red forest berries
Strawberry
Liquorice
Leather
Black pepper
The disciplinare
The rules that define it
The same table on every denomination page, straight from the production rules.
Grape & its role
Share of the blend
050100%
Nebbiolo (Chiavennasca)The whole story, under its mountain nameat least 90%Other red grapes of LombardyNon-aromatic onlyup to 10%Solid means the rules demand it. Striped means optional, up to that amount. The words on the right say the same rule.
Nebbiolo, 90% or more the mountain name is Chiavennasca, and the rulebook prints both.
Two years before sale, one of them in wood counted from 1 December after the harvest.
Riserva means three years with or without a sub-zone name.
One sub-zone per label mix two and the wine goes back to plain Valtellina Superiore.
Only steep, stony, sunny plots qualify with at least 3,500 vines per hectare on new plantings.
Ageing and alcohol minimums per tier are in the label guide above.
Editor's cellar
Bottles to try, and what Valtellina Superiore costs in the UK
Every live Valtellina Superiore listing, cheapest to dearest
38 wines · 8 retailers
Live prices, compared across 8 UK retailers.
Cellar doors · inside the zone
Estates you can visit
Two estates inside the zone open their doors today. A small list, honestly kept: only working cellars with confirmed visits appear here.
No estates match these filters. Clear a filter to see more.
Five stretches of one slope
The sub-zones
The terraces run west to east for about 50 kilometres, and the rulebook cuts them into five named sub-zones. A wine may carry a sub-zone name only when all its grapes grew inside it.
Maroggia
Smallest, 25 haThe smallest and most westerly sub-zone: 25 hectares of steep terraces at Berbenno between 270 and 550 metres, recognised on its own only in 2002.
Sassella
The classicThe classic stretch from Castione Andevenno to the edge of Sondrio: over 100 hectares of rock and dry-stone wall, named after the Madonna della Sassella sanctuary.
Grumello
Under the castleAbout 80 hectares of rocky terraces beneath Grumello castle, just north of Sondrio, between 350 and 600 metres.
Inferno
Warmest, with SassellaFifty-five hectares of vertiginous south-facing terraces east of Sondrio, between 300 and 500 metres, and with Sassella the warmest of the five sub-zones.
Valgella
Largest, 140 haThe largest sub-zone: 140 hectares from Chiuro to Teglio between 350 and 650 metres, with deeper soils, less rain and a name taken from its small streams.
Vintage provenance
Why there is no vintage chart
No denomination-wide vintage chart is currently published for Valtellina Superiore. The guides rate individual wines, so quality here is tracked producer by producer, not year by year.
Buy the current vintage with confidence: every bottle has already had two years' rest. Give a Riserva another three to five years if you want the leather and dried-rose side of Nebbiolo.
What to check instead
The sub-zone: where a wine comes from inside the zone changes what is in the glass. See them above.
The producer: quality here is tracked estate by estate rather than year by year.
How Valtellina Superiore is made
The rulebook asks for at least 90% Nebbiolo, known here as Chiavennasca. Up to 10% can be other red grapes grown in Lombardy. Only steep, stony, well-exposed plots qualify, and new vineyards must carry at least 3,500 vines per hectare. Yields are capped at 8 tonnes of grapes per hectare. Every wine rests for 24 months before release, and at least 12 of them are spent in wooden barrels. The clock starts on 1 December after the harvest. A Riserva waits three years. Finished wines must reach 12% alcohol. Bottles show the vintage and use dark glass. A wine from one of the five named zones can carry that zone on the label. Blend fruit from two zones and the label goes back to plain Valtellina Superiore. Wine bottled over the border in Switzerland may add the word Stagafassli to its name, and then cannot carry a zone name or Riserva.
In depth
Valtellina is a long east-west valley north of Lake Como. Its north bank faces due south, so the terraces catch the sun all day. Growers built them over centuries, and more than 2,500 kilometres of dry-stone walls now hold the soil in place. The stone stores heat, and the air among the vines runs 4 to 5 degrees warmer than the valley floor. The soil is mostly sand from crumbled granite, with no limestone and little water. Slopes pass 70% in places, and the growers' daily work is what keeps the walls standing.
Wine has been made here since Roman times. Monks organised the terraces around the year 1000. From 1550 to 1797 the valley belonged to the Swiss Grey League, and its wine travelled north over the passes. By the mid 1800s vines covered more than 6,000 hectares. Disease, war and the drift away from the terraces after 1945 cut that to under 1,000. The five named zones hold about 400 hectares of terraces between them. Only around 300 hectares of vines went into DOCG wine in 2021, roughly 420 football pitches, for close to 1.8 million bottles a year.
The valley became a DOC in 1968 and a DOCG in 1998. Its five sub-zones run west to east: Maroggia, Sassella, Grumello, Inferno and Valgella. Sassella and Inferno are the warmest, Valgella the largest and Maroggia the smallest. Ar.Pe.Pe. in Sondrio, Nino Negri and Rainoldi in Chiuro, Sandro Fay in Teglio and Mamete Prevostini are the names UK shops carry most. Smaller names such as Dirupi and La Spia sit behind them.
On the table
What to eat with Valtellina Superiore
Fresh acidity and fine tannin want alpine food: pizzoccheri, sciatt, mushroom risotto, ossobuco and slow-cooked beef.
In-depth guide
Valtellina Superiore, answered
It is a dry red wine made from at least 90% Nebbiolo on the terraced north bank of the Valtellina, in the Lombardy Alps. It has been a DOCG since 1998. Every bottle spends two years in the cellar before sale.
Same grape, lighter build. Valtellina Superiore grows 300 to 700 metres up on sandy granite terraces, so it is usually paler, fresher and less tannic than Barolo, and it usually costs less. It is the wine to try if Barolo feels too big or too dear.
They are the five official sub-zones, running west to east along the valley. A wine may name one only when every grape comes from inside it. Sassella and Inferno are the warmest, Valgella is the largest and Maroggia the smallest.
The wine waited at least three years before release instead of two. The extra time softens the tannin and brings out dried rose, leather and tea leaf notes.
It is ready to drink when sold, because the rules already give it two years' rest, three for a Riserva. Nebbiolo's acidity and tannin let it keep well beyond that in a cool, dark place, and a Riserva rewards a few more years.
Start with the valley's own dishes: pizzoccheri, the buckwheat pasta with cabbage, potato and cheese, sciatt cheese fritters and bresaola, the local cured beef. Its fresh acidity and firm tannin also suit mushroom risotto, ossobuco and slow-cooked beef.
It is the local name for Nebbiolo, the same grape that makes Barolo and Barbaresco in Piedmont. The rulebook prints both names, so a label may say either.
Explore more Lombardy
Same region only: the denominations Valtellina Superiore drinkers reach for next.
