It was my late brother-in-law Mike who first introduced me, nearly forty years ago, to the Vallana family’s iconic Spanna.  His bottles, acquired a few at a time from his wine-collector father-in-law in Boston over a period of many years, were all tightly wrapped in plastic and had been around so long the neck labels with the vintage had dried up and fallen off.  When we shared them, it almost didn’t matter if we knew or not what vintage we were drinking because no matter how old it was, every bottle we ever tried was simply perfect!  And for the past thirty years spent working regularly with Piemontese wines, I’ve been lucky enough on several occasions – both here and in Italy- to try Vallanas dating back to the fifties that drank magnificently!  I never really understood, though, why a bottle of simple Nebbiolo (locally called Spanna) bottled without any serious oak treatment or any other bells and whistles for that matter, could age so effortlessly.  Then I finally visited the area and saw how achingly slowly the grapes ripened in these high-altitude vineyards and how chilly these cellars were in the winter.  They mature at a glacier’s pace because there’s nothing to stop them!  Anyway, as we all know, the key isn’t necessarily how long you can keep a wine, it’s how it tastes the moment when you decide to open it.  And that’s what makes a Vallana Spanna so special…not only can it age for decades, it’ll taste good on whatever day in whatever year you want to drink it!  Tonight even.  And it’s one of the best deals you’ll ever find.  Made from old vine Nebbiolo with a soupcon of the local Vespolina grape addedfor a bit of color and heft, these grapes are grown in the unique, mountainous terroir in the alpine foothills of the northernmost part of Piemonte.  The Nebbiolo here is not endowed with the weight and muscle one sees further west in Barolo and Barbaresco, but it does have every bit the spice and nuance, and a singular Pinot Noir-like elegance that makes Spanna a stellar food-pairing wine. It can ably handle lighter, more delicate fare like Vitello Tonnato and frito misto as well as classic Nebbiolo-friendly dishes making it not only a delicious wine to open any time, but a useful one too!  And, really, you can’t beat the price!  Discover the Nebbiolo you’ve never known at a price that will make you come back for more!