Elio dries his Fumin grapes for one week before the wine is fermented in order to intensify the sugars and resultant flavours. This technique results in a full-bodied wine with intense fruit aromas of dried cherry, blackberries and blackcurrants with hints of spice, chocolate and cigar box. Unique.

Elio Ottin is the rising star of Valle d’Aosta, the smallest of Italy’s regions located in the Alps bordering France and Switzerland. Elio has a background as a passionate agriculturalist, and indeed this is his main driving force as opposed to super-technical winemaking. For a long time he was selling his grapes to the local winemaking cooperative (which is common in these parts due to the small land holdings and the intense labour required to work the terraced hillside). From 2007 however, he has taken it upon himself to shine a spotlight on the native varieties in the region and begin to produce wines of great clarity and delicacy. His region is unique. Winters here are long and freezing and the summers, although warm, are short. This is the home of the highest mountains in Europe, and the altitude and aspect of the slopes that the vines are planted on certainly contributes to their distinct alpine character. Sensitive farming tied to these special vineyard sites and unique grape varieties ensure wines of great personality - styles that are not found anywhere else. There is a distinct thread that runs through all the wines that Elio produces - a mark of both the region and the hand of the maker. Idiosyncratic, special wines. Elio dries his Fumin grapes for one week before the wine is fermented in order to intensify the sugars and resultant flavours. This technique results in a full-bodied wine with intense fruit aromas of dried cherry, blackberries and blackcurrants with hints of spice, chocolate and cigar box. Unique.