Why it matters
The producer
La Spia is a small family estate in Sassella, the westernmost and arguably most storied sub-zone of Valtellina Superiore DOCG, on the terraced southern slopes above the Adda river at the entrance to Sondrio. Michele Rigamonti leads the estate. Winemaker Emil Galimberti oversees the cellar. The labels carry large-scale figurative paintings by Luca Pignatelli, a Milanese artist whose mixed-media work makes these bottles visually distinct from anything else on the Valtellina shelf.
La Spia farms 4.5 hectares and produces a single red grape: Nebbiolo, grown here as the Chiavennasca biotype, the form native to Valtellina and genetically distinct from Nebbiolo d'Alba. The estate made its first harvest in 2006 and now produces over 25,000 bottles each year.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Valtellina is an east-west alpine valley in Lombardy, carved by the Adda river beneath the Rhaetian Alps. The vineyards face south and southwest, catching sun across terraced granite and schist slopes while cold mountain air keeps acidity high. This orientation is what makes Nebbiolo viable at altitude; without it, the grape would not ripen.
Sassella is the most westerly of the five Valtellina Superiore sub-zones. The DOCG rules require 90 percent Nebbiolo minimum; at La Spia the reds are 100 percent Chiavennasca. The sub-zone sits at the entrance of Sondrio, and its southwest-facing terraces run from approximately 300 to 420 metres above sea level. That elevation range slows ripening, extends the growing season, and pushes fruit concentration while preserving the firm acidity that defines Valtellina reds.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
PG40 Sassella grows on southwest-facing terraces at 300 to 420 metres. The Chiavennasca is macerated on skins in stainless steel tanks for an extended period, building tannin and extracting colour from a grape that, by nature, sits at the lighter end of the red wine spectrum in the glass but carries considerable grip on the palate. After maceration, the wine moves to 10-hectoliter oak barrels, a size that transfers gentle wood contact without overwhelming a wine of this scale, and ages for up to 30 months. Both French oak and acacia barrels are used. Acacia contributes less tannin than oak and preserves brighter fruit, so the barrel mix becomes a tool for managing texture alongside the long maceration.
Wines to know
The range in view
The range is built on two DOCG reds and one experimental white.
PG40 Sassella DOCG is the flagship. One hundred percent Chiavennasca from the southwest terraces, it carries the longest maceration and the full 30-month barrel regime. On the record: aromas of candied cherries, tobacco, earth, cedar, and a hint of cocoa; 14.5 percent alcohol; tannins that are firm but polished after barrel time. Decanter awarded it a Platinum medal.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
PG40 Sassella DOCG is the bottle to start with. It is the flagship, the bottle Decanter awarded Platinum, and the wine that concentrates every decision La Spia makes: the southwest terrace exposure, the extended skin maceration, the 30 months in 10-hectoliter oak. In the glass it delivers candied cherries and tobacco on the nose, a bright acid line through the palate, and a firm, cedar-edged finish. There is no shortcut here: the wine is a serious Valtellina Superiore that rewards proper serving temperature and patience, but it gives back considerably more than the effort costs.