2020 Institut Agricole Regional Aoste Petite Rouge Valle d'Aosta

About the Wine

Not familiar with Petit Rouge? No problem. We’re happy to give you a little info. It’s what we’re here for.

Petit Rouge is a dark-skinned native Italian grape, grown mostly in the Valle d’Aosta. It’s the most prolific grape variety in the region that’s purposefully nurturing its native grapes to promote traditional wine varieties and environmental biodiversity. Petit Rouge produces a tart, fruity red wine that’s sometimes compared to Beaujolais. While that’s a helpful similarity to point out, there’s still something specifically Italian about the grape, particularly when it’s blended with other native grapes as it often is.

Such is the case with the 2020 Institut Agricole Regional Aoste Petit Rouge Valle d'Aosta, a wine produced at the Institut Agricole Régional in Aosta Valley. It’s one of the institute’s autochthonous (indigenous) lines of wines. The line focuses on the pure vinification of native grapes recovered in ancient vineyards of the region and selected to give rise to wines that express the rusticity and charm of mountain viticulture.

This extremely small production (just 5,300 bottles) wine is 90% Petit Rouge and 10% other autochthonous varieties. It’s almost impossible to find this wine outside of the region, but we have a small allocation of this wine made with grapes that have thrived for hundreds, maybe thousands, of years in the terroir of the Valle d’Aosta.

Aging: Stainless steel tanks for about 8 months and at least one month in bottle.

Tasting Notes: Ruby red with aromas of wild rose, violet, strawberry, and smoke. Earthy on the palate with strawberry and black currant. Light.  Bright. Fresh.

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