- He Doesn't Go to VinItaly or Market The Wines
- These Wines Are Absolute and Utter Masterpieces
- Aged in Old Chestnut - Totally Unique
- Please Read This Carefully - Our Only Renato Offer of the Year - You. Do. Not. Want. to. Miss. This.
- Some of the Most Insane Values We Offer
2016 Motalli Renato "Le Urscele" Valtellina Superiore Riserva
- You Cannot Drink This Alone - Someone Needs to Be There That You Can Tell How Great It is
- Stunning Aromatic Clarity
- Tar, Fresh and Dried Roses
- Spice, Licorice, Strawberries, Black Tea
- Umami, Earth
- Almost an Earth Perfume
- Perfect Ripe, Sappy Fruit with Wonderful Clarity
- Epic 2016 Nebbiolo Vintage
- Like Drinking Incredibly Well Made Burgundy from Nebbiolo
- One of the Best Price to Age and Quality Deals We've Ever Offered
- Monopole of Motalli Renato
2018 Motalli Renato Chiavennasca (Nebbiolo) Rosato
- I Hate Rose ... But This Is Incredible
- On My Top 10 Rose List
- First, Rose from Nebbiolo....How Cool Is That
- Second, It's Just Amazingly Delicious. Just Perfect Strawberries and So Juicy
- A Field of Lemon Flowers Crossed with Nebbiolo Flowers
- So Complex and Vinous
- Almost Like God's Negroni
- You Know You Are Going to Drink Rose At Some Point - This Is The One You'll Want
2016 Motalli Renato Valgella
- Yes, This is Remarkably Fresh and Delicious
- First of Season Cherries with Amazing Spice
- Terrific Power and Concentration
- Really, Really Well Made - Almost Too Good for Every Day
- 2016 Nebbiolo....
"He was a man, take him for all in all,
I shall not look upon his like again."
I shall not look upon his like again."
Hamlet
Ar.Pe.Pe and Motali Renato
Ar.Pe.Pe. Without a doubt, the flag bearer for Valtellina is Ar.Pe.Pe. The wines are stunning. And brilliantly made. Perfect. Incredible branding. In every Michelin starred restaurant that has a wine from Valtellina. Social media. Everything.
Motali Renato is a one man shop. It's run by Motali Renato. He is in charge of vineyard work, the cellar, marketing, sales and accounting. And he's been doing it for 60 years, I'd guess. I'm not
going to say he's the next Steve Jobs on the sales and marketing side. But as far as sheer winemaking ability, I'd put him up with anyone in Italy.
going to say he's the next Steve Jobs on the sales and marketing side. But as far as sheer winemaking ability, I'd put him up with anyone in Italy.
The wines at Motalli Renato are more classic and aromatically focused. They are incredibly old school in the best way. These are a benchmark in Valtellina for me. These are powerful, yet delicate, aromatically beguiling and unapologetically old school wines. They are all aged 100% in Chestnut wood which gives these such an engaging old school personality. These would be 3-4 times the prices if you slapped Barolo on the label. The winemakers I love often release the wines when they are ready. They are true artists. In a world that is increasingly driven by pure profit motives it is really special to see a winemaker release the wine when he's damn ready to do it will please his customers the most. We are lucky to have Motalli Renato. These are some of the most high quality, low priced wines in the portfolio.
When Motali retires, wines like these will never, ever be made again.
Making them requires so much experience, skill and hard work that no one will ever be able to do it. You should grab cases of them. They are jewels of winemaking.
The Wines
Up first is Motalli's Grand Cru per se, the 2016 Motalli Renato "Le Urscele" Valtellina Superiore Riserva for $34.99 a bottle on a 4-Pack. Le Urscele is like Grumello etc, except it is a monopole of Motalli. This is likely why it does not get much attention. And we are the first to work with him in the USA so it's not well known, but this 2016 can kick the pants off of any of the more expensive famous Valtellinas and most of the Langhe. This wine is insane and one of the most ageworthy/ready to drink deals we have ever offered. So first off, please do not think of this like a $34.99 wine - think of it more like a very, very well made $45-$70 (on release) Barbaresco. It's 100% Nebbiolo and aged in large chestnut casks. This is old, old school winemaking by a master who has done it for decades. The nose is just gorgeous and so refined. It is what every Nebbiolo head wants.
I had this recently and I had to call my partner and make him listen to me go on and on about how great it was. The wine literally blew me away. I had to get the tasting notes out of my system verbally or I was going to explode. I literally yelled tasting notes at him for 10 minutes. To heck with the fact that this wine costs $34.99. It's that good.
The nose. Classic Nebbiolo that is utterly distinctive and entrancing. Loads of spices with a hint of vivid strawberry. Mixture of fresh and dry roses. Some licorice and maybe even a suggestion of anise and black tea. There is stunning clarity to the aromas. They build and build as the Wine gets more air. After 45 minutes you're slack jawed smelling this wine. Gorgeous old school Nebbiolo aromas that are truly stunningly refined.
The palate is insanely delicious but also a great platform for the internal aromatics. There is terrific cherry fruit with uncanny clarity. Super juicy with the wonderful remnants and structure that come from of integrated chestnut wood. Why don't more people use old chestnut? It's awesome. Uncanny complexity and freshness. Ripe, sweet tannins and wonderful pop for lack of a better word. The fruit is red as it comes and is beautifully ripe, sappy and long. So juicy on the finish with unreal elegant and juicy tannins. Lovely, lovely internal aromatics with fantastic spice.
The finish is very, very long and really refined. This is world class wine at the price of a merely very good wine. Don't miss this wine. It's a work of art. What makes this special is the interplay between the vibrancy and depth. Bravo Mr. Renato. This is a wine you cannot miss. I will email every person who has ever bought a Burgundy, German Pinot or Nebbiolo to buy this wine.
If you can afford great Barbaresco and don't care that this is half the price, I get it but you should still buy this. It is just a different expression of Nebbiolo and the chestnut ageing makes for a totally unique wine so if you like Nebbiolo, you should get this. If $40-$70 is above your price point, then this is a way to enjoy the uniqueness and wonderfulness of aged Nebbiolo for a song.
I'm also offering the 2018 Motalli Renato Chiavennasca (Nebbiolo) Rosato for $29.99 each on a 4 pack purchase. So this is 100% Nebbiolo rose - so how cool is that? So I really almost never offer rose because roses mostly all have a particular flavor (from the skin contact) of which, frankly, I'm not a fan. This one does not have that. It is just so incredibly clean and well made. I'm offering this because, well, it's just simply really, really delicious. So good, I added it to my list of Top 10 Roses.
The nose is just a field of fresh strawberries with dried leaves, faint roses and citrus skin. Really precise nose. Has something to say. Just gorgeous. A field of lemon flowers blinded by Nebbiolo flowers.
The palate is super precise and then just pure strawberry/first of season cherry flavors with awesome Fass Selections juiciness. Really makes your mouth water. Really nice juiciness on the finish. High acid and nice structure. So, so, so , so savory. Orange peel, spice. Almost like God's Negroni, but low alcohol. Needs 30 minutes of air. Nice density, structure and concentration.
Next up is the 2016 Motalli Renato Valgella Valtellina Superiore for $29.99 each on a 4 pack purchase. This is as epic as Valgella gets. It is a super, super overachiever. It's 100% Nebbiolo aged in large chestnut barrels. Man, I love this wine. It's a testament to the hard work that Motalli does in the vineyards that he can make a wine of this quality and sell it for a fair price.
The nose is lovely cherry flower and a hint of spice. Big, evocative inner earth element. Also tar and dried roses. Delicate aromas.
The palate is really, really refined. The texture is so ethereal and delicate. Fresh, first of season cherries with lovely spice. Really, really juicy. Incredible freshness and so much depth from 2016. Perfectly balanced. Motalli is a master of balance. Great cut and grip. It's a very serious wine. Terrific fruit, power and concentration. So authentic. It's like it's in black and white. It's a wine that is so well made and really floats on the palate and gives and gives - sort of like the wines of JJ Morel. The finish echoes spice and fresh cherries. The 2016 has an extra dimension. It is a stunning Valgella and again one cannot believe this is a $24.99 wine.
The Legend of Motali Renato
The famed Wilhelm Haag in his day had a reputation that he could crush the bones in your hands so powerful were they from working in the vineyards for decades. While I have a great fondness for him, I can confidently say that Motalli Renato would turn Haag's hands (or even Mike Tyson's) to dust if they went at it. Motalli Renato has been working this brutal winemaking region (Valtellina) for decades and these powerful hands are his badges of honor for his spectacular work over the years. The vines struggle for nutrients in the rocky, steep clay soil. These are truly some of the most individual and distinctive wines we sell. German Spätburgunder and Alt/Nebbiolo are the two most value laced categories at Fass Selections. And because Renato has focused on his craft as opposed to marketing, they are ridiculous deals.
2016 Motalli Renato "Le Urscele" Valtellina Superiore Riserva - $36.99 ($139.96 4-Pack)
2018 Motalli Renato Chiavennasca (Nebbiolo) Rosato - $31.99
($119.96 4-Pack)
2016 Motalli Renato Valgella Valtellina Superiore - $31.99 (($119.96 4-Pack)
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