Wines

This wine takes its name from local lore, the “Badebec” being a monster of fearsome stature who roams the vineyards after the sun goes down—life in these Alpine extremes involves constantly confronting the ruthlessness of the elements, a reality that manifests itself in a multitude of mythical beasts! Composed of 90% Petit Rouge and 10% Fumin and Vien de Nus, “Badebec” comes from the family’s oldest holdings around the towns of Gressan and Jovencan, with vines up to 100 years of age. With beautiful lifted fruit and spice character, lovers of tension, scintillating acidity and livewire mineral intensity will find much to appreciate here, and a wine of this character could come from nowhere else but the dramatic altitudes of the Italian Alps.

“Grandgosier” is the name of a mythical giant who is said to reside in these mountains. The wine is entirely produced from Pinot Noir from a few parcels set into the steep slopes of the western side of the valley. After the alcoholic and malolactic fermentations in stainless steel, the wine spends about twelve weeks in three year old barrels to add a touch of refinement. Eight hundred bottles were produced, 450 of which are now Stateside – an elegant, fine, playful wine.

The only one of Cuneaz’s wines not named for a local monster, “Les Gosses” derives from a French term for “little children” (monsters in their own right, to be sure!)—of which Nadir has three. Coincidentally, this wine contains three local varieties: 60% Vien de Nus, 25% Petit Rouge, and 15% of the little-seen Vuillermin—the father of Fumin, in fact. “Les Gosses” comes entirely from south-facing vineyards: “Bedeun” in Chambave and “Creta Platta.” Made entirely in steel, this is a classic Vallée d’Aoste lip-smacker, stuffed with juicy black cherries and crunchy plums. With electrifying acidity and a complexity-contributing edge of woodsmoke, this is perhaps the most delicious and complete wine Nadir has ever made; it’s too bad there are only 60 cases to go around!

From the Bedeun vineyard vineyard in Gressan, planted in the early 1970s. Crovassa (60%), Petit Rouge (33%), Neyret (33%). Following total destemming, wine ferments spontaneously in terracotta amphora. Cuvaison lasts c. 60 days. Following a few months in amphora, the wine spends one year in neutral 300-liter tonneaux. Only 800 bottles produced.

"Pic Ten"--after "Picotendro," the Valdostana moniker for Nebbiolo--comes from 30-year-old vines outside the village of Donnas in a site called Arnat. Fermented via indigenous yeasts with 100% whole clusters and aged one year in a single 500-liter oak barrel, this is a spicy, lifted, adamantly Alpine Nebbiolo with charmingly tangy fruit and terrific balance.