Situated in the heart of the Italian Alpes in the magnificent Valtellina valley found in Lombardy, the Pelizzatti Perego family create their brilliant wines. They have been caring for wines in the region for more than 150 years and the domain is here today thanks to its namesake: Arturo Pelizzatti Perego. An ambitious visionary, Arturo bought back the family domain in 1984 with the goal of creating delicate Vatellina Nebbiolos that would be known around the world. He did just that and today the name “ARPEPE” has become a standard for Italian wines. Now run by Arturo’s children, the property sitting at 700 metres above sea level use the knowledge passed down through five generations to continue making the domain’s brilliant organic wines of which only 60,000 bottles are produced in a year.

Nestling at an altitude of over 450 metres, Montagna in Valtellina’s church of Sant'Antonio watches over the unique vineyards of Valtellina. The Grumello vineyards are situated at the foot of the church, on a steep, rocky slope, encouraging the winemaker to cultivate each parcel exclusively by hand. As a result, the Nebbiolo grapes receive special care, with manual harvesting and destemming. In the cellar, the grapes undergo a 45-day-long maceration in whole clusters in large oak barrels. Following repeated pumping over to extract all the tannins from the marc, the wine develops and blossoms in large chestnut barrels for 60 months before resting in bottles for at least 36 further months. Intense and fragrant, the nose is characterised by notes of violets combined with hints of tobacco and balsamic. On the palate, the superb balance between powerful tannins and a hint of acidity leads to a long, delicious finish.