From Lorenzo’s small holdings, he produces five Nebbiolo wines, each of which is resplendent of high altitude characteristics: heavenly, forward aromatics wedded to finesse-driven, silky tannins making for smooth wines of delicate power. All Lorenzo’s wines are hand-harvested, unfined, unfiltered and are made using indigenous yeasts, with very little addition of SO2. One of the great crus of Valtellina, Inferno does in fact take its name from the warm sun’s rays that can shine on the high terraces for a few hours late in the day, so working there can be like an… What’s in the bottle confirms the hard work: truly Superiore while unlike anything else, 34 days of skin contact and 12 months of ageing in neutral barrel deliver otherworldly complexity from what may be Lorenzo’s best vintage. The barren earth there is made up of schist and sandstone, giving character and vigor to the wines – intensely fruited, powerful, and captivating. First to the fore are rose petal and menthol, fresh cranberry and leather, as fine-grained tannins carry concentrated flavors of ripe raspberry, star anise, Earl Grey and red licorice. Light on its feet, this boasts complexity and depth without ever losing the soaring feeling of its high-altitude origins.