The history of Mamete Prevostini winery begins in Mese, a small village in Valchiavenna in the province of Sondrio, 15 kilometers north of Lago di Como, in 1928, with the creation of an artisan company dedicated to the production of fruit and vegetables, wine and sausages. It is a local activity that has as its operating center the family’s Crotto, a typical natural cavity formed in prehistoric times that guarantees ideal temperatures for the preservation of food and drinks. The example of his grandfather and father lead the young Mamete, in the 90s, to continue the family business, with particular attention to the wine production. Mamete, however, dreams a step change and so, after graduating from the wine school in Conegliano, begins to bottle and sell the wine that, until then, was served exclusively at the family restaurant.
Making wine in Valtellina is for the young Mamete a real choice of life that requires great determination: in those areas, in fact, the vineyards are not hospitable at all, characterized by altitudes between 400 and 700 meters and by extremely harsh winters. In addition, it is necessary to build rough and steep terraces that steal arable land to the mountain and that, not surprisingly, have been defined “vertical land” and recognized intangible UNESCO heritage.
In the 30 hectares owned, Mamete practices an heroic, careful and ecologically inspired viticulture, with almost all the operations carried out manually, also because it would be rather complicated to use a tractor with those slopes. In addition, since 2013, the cellar has doubled: the one that also included the old Crotto has been destined to the aging of bottles while the new one, in Postalesio, 10 kilometers from Sondrio, in the heart of Valtellina, has become the driving force of the company. It is a cube of 300 square meters, built according to the maximum energy saving possible (Mamete likes to say that “you can heat it with a match and cool it with an ice cube”): use of renewable energy and processing grapes by falling are only two of the measures that have led to the “Casaclima Wines” certification (the first in Lombardy and the third in Italy).
Among the most famous wines of this winery it is impossible not to mention Valtellina superiore Sassella Sommarovina obtained from the first vineyard purchased by Mamete, in Triasso, at 400 meters above sea level. It is a pure Nebbiolo vineyard, planted with a density of 4200 vines per hectare, which insists on a soil originated by the cleavage of granite rocks transformed, essentially, into sand with a small balance (20%) of silt. After the manual harvest, usually in the second half of October, accompanied by a careful selection of the best grapes, the grapes are brought quickly to the cellar where they are completely de-stemmed. A light crushing precedes the alcoholic fermentation, accompanied by a couple of weeks of maceration on the skins, and a year of aging in oak barrels, where the wine also performs malolactic fermentation. Another ten months of rest in the bottle, after racking, and the wine is ready for marketing.
The 2012 vintage shows an almost impalpable ruby color, with an olfactory fan that opens on notes of Ravenna cherry, pomegranate, orange and red currant, followed by pot pouorri, hibiscus, undergrowth and roasted coffee, with final cyoung leather and blood/ferrous echoes. The palate is characterized by an inviting freshness surrounded by a discreet glyceric softness and tannins just hinted but very elegant; all enriched by the return of red and fresh fruit, and by the blood/ferrous sensation, that accompany the sip to an excellent length closure.
Rating: 90/100
