ArPePe Valtellina Superiore Riserva Sassella Ultimi Raggi 2009

95 points Antonio Galloni (Vinous): "The 2009 Valtellina Superiore Sassella Ultimi Raggi is beguiling, rich, dense and powerful. Cinnamon, dried dark cherry, leather, smoke and licorice come together in a full-bodied, somewhat rustic wine with no shortage of character. The Ultimi Raggi is made from the last fruit on the vine to ripen, and is therefore sweeter and richer through the mid-palate, with more palate weight and overall density than is found in most of these wines. I loved it. Drink: 2020-2039. (Apr 2020)"

95 points Wine Enthusiast: "You'll find aromas of ripe berry, exotic spice, scorched earth, violet and balsamic notes on this generous fragrant red. The structured savory palate delivers crushed raspberry, succulent red cherry, star anise and tobacco alongside decisive but refined tannins. It's balanced, with fresh acidity. Alcohol 14%. (Apr 2018)"

93 points Monica Larner (Wine Advocate): "Ultimi Raggi means 'last rays' in Italian, and it's impossible not to think of the pink and gold colors that illuminate the last tips of the Italian Alps as the setting sun makes its final descent of the day. The 2009 Valtellina Superiore Riserva Sassella Ultimi Raggi expresses that terrestrial poetry with dark fruit intensity. Of the various samples tasted from Ar.Pe.Pe., this wine is the most open, immediate and generous. It reveals a slightly darker appearance and rounder fruit flavors of cherry and dried blackberry. This is the most primary of the wines in this fight. This single-vineyard expression is only made in the best years. Only 6,000 bottles were produced. The wine ferments on the skins for 30 days in oak, and it then ages in a combination of chestnut wood (for five years) and cement (for an additional three years). Drink: 2018-2035. (Dec 2018)"