2022 Barbacàn 'Liöm' Alpi Retiche

'Liöm' is one of Barbacàn’s most distinctive and forward-looking wines, a small-production amphora red that moves beyond the usual idea of Valtellina as simply Alpine Nebbiolo. It focuses instead on the recovered native varieties of the terraces, showing another side of the region’s old vineyard heritage.

The wine is built around Rossola, a rare indigenous grape of Valtellina, grown on steep dry-stone terraces at high altitude. These vineyards sit between 700 and 800 metres above sea level, on sandy, loamy granite soils rich in silica, where altitude, wind and stone shape a wine of lift, tension and mineral clarity.

Fermentation is spontaneous and takes place in amphora, with ageing in the same vessels. The amphora is important here because it allows the wine to develop texture and depth without the flavour imprint of oak. It preserves the purity of the fruit while giving the palate more shape, grip and savoury detail.

In the glass, Liöm shows a bright ruby colour. The nose is vivid and lifted, with wild strawberry, redcurrant, raspberry, rose, dried mint, delicate pepper and a dusty granitic note. On the palate, it is medium-bodied, fresh and mineral, with juicy red fruit, fine tannins and a clean, stony finish.

Liöm is Barbacàn at its most experimental, but not in a decorative or fashionable way. It is a serious study of forgotten Valtellina varieties, amphora ageing and high-altitude mountain viticulture: delicate, rare, vibrant and deeply tied to place.

100% Organic.

Smoked duck breast, roast pork loin with herbs, grilled quail, pasta with a tomato-based sauce, or aged cheeses. A great meditation wine to be enjoyed on its own as well, capturing the evolution in the glass at every sip.

Serve: 14–16 °C
Drink: 2025–2032