Ming L

9.3

This Valtellina Superiore opens with crushed wild strawberry, tart cherry, and subtle dried rose, showing remarkable fruit purity and freshness. Medium-bodied, silky juicy red berries infused by fresh herbs dance across the palate with poise and ease. No oak heaviness; just transparent, elegant precision. Lingering finish of redcurrant and mineral dust.

A very pretty and charming alpine Nebbiolo. — 11 days ago

Conrad Green

9.1

Lovely fruit. Cherry and violet and lifted fragrance. Light mid palate — 2 months ago

with Peter and Gregg

Marc Karetsky

9.5

Love this maker. Classic Nebbiolo. — 3 months ago

romo

9.2

First bottle three years ago had more energy. Went sour on day 2. — 3 months ago

Phil Kessling

9.2

These are some of my favorite Mountain Nebbiolo. ArPePe actually ages the Riserva before releasing. — 6 months ago

Aaron Tan

9.2

The 16’ Ultimi Raggi, though impressive, just had to bow out to the Vrana Petra. Both shared vibrant red fruit aromas and dried florals, but the Ultimi Raggi leaned into richer, plummy notes with chocolate, nutty warmth, and a balsamic edge. On the palate, both wines were similarly intense, yet the Vrana Petra’s mineral-driven elegance outpaced the Ultimi Raggi’s richness. Towards the end of the night, the Ultimi Raggi’s austere tannins became very pronounced, rendering it a bit more challenging to drink. Both excellent wines, but in it was the Vrana Petra that took the cake at this stage with its clarity and poise. I can’t say this wasn’t expected though, given the Ultimi Raggi’s late-harvest nature. If anything, it did provide excellent context for the “Barolo of Greece” claims attached to the Vrana Petra. — 2 years ago

Matthew Cohen

9.4

Nose is so sexy. Sexy cherries and roses. Pink and red roses hand crushed and jammed in your face. As it opens more dusty roses

Palate is sexy cherries. Pink rose internal aromatics. So juicy. A bit bitter. So good.

— 4 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.6

Insane wine. Dried cherry, spice, road tar, dried roses and that haunting alpine Nebbiolo perfume that only Arpepe seems able to deliver. The palate is nimble, precise and unbelievably balanced. Yes, there is tannin, but Arpepe processes tannin through its own lens. Everything feels refined, transparent and perfectly proportioned. The architecture is stunning. There is a slight stretch on the back end right now, but the underlying balance and purity are undeniable. Already 9.6 and just getting started. — 25 days ago

Matt Perlman

9.4

More open knit than the Sassella, total deliciousness and high toned elegance — 2 months ago

Matthew Cohen

9.7

NEEDS a 45 minute decant.

N: sensual. Sexy. Wild cherry and blackberry. Liquor. Intense. Savory.

P: sweet wildblackberry. Silky. Explosive. So good. — 3 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of two days. Gorgeous on both days. The 2019 Grumello “Rocco de Piro”pours a brilliant, ruby color with a transparent core and a slightly watery rim; medium viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with gorgeous notes of cool, fresh raspberries, roses with babies breath, Alpine herbs, cedar chest, and rocky earth. On the palate the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+ and the texture is silky. Such a beautiful and elegant expression of Chiavennasca. Drink now through 2034. Thanks for the assist @Lyle Fass — 5 months ago

David D

9.0

Bone dry! Medium–light. Lots of minerals and wet steel, not surprising for an Alpine wine. Graphite, crunchy red fruit, touch of baking spice, brambles. From a new producer that had worked with Ar.Pe.Pe. From Flatiron Wines. 11/27/22. — 4 years ago

Paco Suro

9.0

Rustic. Light. Yummy. — 4 years ago

Benjamin Hickey

9.3

Light but has depth and persistence — 4 years ago

Pooneet K

9.2

Likely too young and not served in ideal conditions - limited air, bit too warm, but at the price at a roadside restaurant in Emilia Romagna I couldn’t resist. Beautiful color and aromas, perfect pairing with a delicious porchetta. — a month ago

Matt Perlman

9.3

This is, as expected, the more structured between the Sassella and the Grumello of the same vintage, but on this night actually preferred the latter. — 2 months ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

10

This was perfection. Full stop. Ten points, 100, A plus, whatever scale you want to drag into the room, it all collapses under the same truth: it does not get better than this. The 2016 Ar.Pe.Pe. Sassella Rocce Rosse Riserva was so achingly beautiful, so complete, so internally right, that halfway through I stopped even trying to “evaluate” it and just gave in. What makes it unbearable, in the best way, is how nothing sticks out and yet everything glows. The wine has lift, detail, soul, delicacy, authority, all of it moving at once, all of it perfectly proportioned. It just stands there in complete command of itself, and the longer it sits in the glass the more it seems to reveal that perfection and grace are not opposites. They are partners. Words really do start to fail with a wine like this, because the whole point of the experience is that it reaches past language. — 3 months ago

Seth Masterson

9.2

Delicious Chocolate over dried fruit notes with nice dry floral notes. A very nice nebbiolo without face ripping tannins- a good sipper but also would pair well with the lighter side of Italian foods. — 5 months ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

This is a large-auditorium college intro class in Valtellina Nebbiolo. (In contrast to a graduate seminar led by Professor Marsetti or Professor Ar.Pe.Pe.) Loads of dried cherry fruit and winey old barrel scents on the nose. A bit of faded rose petals and stone. The light color looks fairly advanced. The palate is openly fruited initially, but has a bit of a tannic clench at the end. So the balance to be struck is drinking while the fruit is so nice but waiting to see if the tannins drop and soften. Not a long term project. Enjoy over the next few years would be my take, but I tend to favor things on the younger side. — 8 months ago

Chris Buggy

9.1

Beautiful. Nice bright cherry and dark fruit, balanced tannins. Restrained Nebbiolo, a pleasure to enjoy. — 4 years ago