Selve, Picotendro "Rovere" (2017) – Valle d'Aosta

Alpine Nebbiolo, aged in oak: pale, perfumed and made to be poured slowly.

Picotendro is Nebbiolo the way the Alps make it, lighter in colour and body than the Langhe, but with all the perfume. The Rovere is the oak-aged version, so it's the more classical of Selve's two wines. It's the one to open with a mushroom dish, and no hurry.

THE GRAPE
100% Picotendro, the Valle d'Aosta name for Nebbiolo, said to mean "small and tender". It grows on pergola-trained vines on dry-stone terraces at the very bottom of the valley, where Donnas meets Piemonte.

THE WINE
Aged in oak, this is the more restrained and elegant of the pair. Expect a pale garnet colour and haunting, floral scents, then a smooth palate with fine tannins and good length. As with good Barolo or Burgundy, much of the pleasure is in the bouquet. Give it a decant and 20 minutes to open.

FOOD PAIRING
Wild mushroom dishes, fontina fonduta, polenta with mountain cheese, braised game, roast chicken. Serve around 16–18°C.

THE WINEMAKER 
Selve is a small family estate in Donnas, on the border with Piemonte, founded in 1948 and run by the Nicco family. Nothing chemical has ever been used in the vineyards or the cellar, and the wines are vegan. The vines grow on pergolas on steep, south-facing terraces whose stone walls soak up the sun by day and give the warmth back in the evening. The family owns five sites, and Minin is regarded as the finest. Picotendro is simply the local name for Nebbiolo, and Rolando Nicco has been known to tell visitors to forget his name and remember only the place, Donnas, and the grape.