IN BREVE
- Sopraquota 900 by Rosset Terroir is an iconic wine of the Petite Arvine variety, cultivated between 880 and 925 meters above sea level in Valle d’Aosta.
- The vineyard has very low yields and harvesting is done exclusively by hand.
- Production takes place through differentiated fermentation methods in steel, wood, amphora, and terracotta jar, giving life to an original and complex wine.
- Sopraquota 900 represents the identity and tradition of the Valle d’Aosta territory.
- The wine expresses alpine energy and precision, combining the challenges of altitude with the quality of the grapes from the Rosset Terroir winery.
Getting there is no walk in the park. The path climbs steeply. Vertical. Your breath shortens. Your legs tire. Every glance back reveals another postcard-perfect alpine view of Valle d’Aosta. Around you, only stone and mountain silence. It’s from these slopes that Sopraquota 900 by Rosset Terroir is born, a symbolic wine of Valle d’Aosta Petite Arvine. The name isn’t marketing. It’s a photograph. Or rather: a summary.
SOPRAQUOTA ROSSET TERROIR, THE VINEYARD THAT DEFIES THE MOUNTAIN
We’re in Cumiod di Villeneuve, in the heart of Valle d’Aosta. The Petite Arvine rows climb between 880 and 925 meters above sea level. A viticultural zone where the mountain really begins to make itself felt. The soil is hard, lean, mineral. Sand, stone, rock fragments, quartz, and granite. Fine soil is scarce. The roots must seek depth to find nourishment. It’s a harsh environment that gives nothing away. But it returns identity.
The vines are densely planted, over eleven thousand plants per hectare. Each plant competes with the next to survive. Yields are very low, around 40 quintals per hectare. And harvest comes late, often in mid-October, when the mountain air begins to nip at your hands.
Rosset Terroir brings home the Sopraquota 900 grapes exclusively by hand, placing the Petite Arvine bunches in small crates, transported to “terra firma” using a small tracked vehicle. Heroic viticulture, in the most concrete sense possible.
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PETITE ARVINE, ALPINE PRECISION IN VALLE D’AOSTA
The vineyard became part of the Rosser-Levi family winery property in 2016. The former owner, a Swiss entrepreneur with a passion for wine, had chosen that location to plant Petite Arvine in the late 1990s. A way to test the alpine character of the variety, known for its resistance to low temperatures. A variety that loves the cold of mountain nights. And the intense light of alpine days.
A bet won by the vineyard’s “father,” later passed to a winery whose company mission is precisely to enhance every small parcel of its 13 hectares of property. From vineyard to glass, Sopraquota 900 is immediately recognizable in the Rosset Terroir wine range. Even in vertical (2019-2023) the color is luminous and the aromatic profile precise: white flowers, citrus, lime zest, grapefruit. Defined notes, almost rhythmic. Without blurring.
On the palate it reads the vintage and changes pace. Taut, vertical, savory. The acidity runs straight as the path leading to the vineyard. The mineral component lengthens the sip and leaves that saline and oily sensation that belongs to great mountain (and sea) whites. A sculpted wine, in every layer.
A VINIFICATION THAT SEEKS COMPLEXITY
Nothing, after all, is left to chance in the construction of a true monument to Petite Arvine. After the vineyard miracle accomplished by the team led by agronomist Federico Bientinesi, winemaker Matteo Moretto—together with external consultant Luca d’Attoma—does everything to preserve and enhance the sacredness of every berry.
The grapes are divided into multiple batches and fermented with different approaches. Part in steel, part in wood. Part in amphora, part in terracotta jar. Each vessel adds a different nuance: freshness, structure, aromatic depth. After about a year of aging, the different components are brought together. The result is there in the glass. A complex yet precise white, capable of holding together alpine energy and gustatory stratification. The 2023 vintage is fabulous (96/100 Winemag), the latest vintage on the market.
A WHITE THAT HAS GAINED ALTITUDE
It’s no coincidence, then, that in recent years Sopraquota 900 has become one of the most recognizable benchmarks of new Valle d’Aosta viticulture. But the truth is that this wine cannot be understood or explained with technique. But is learned, up there. Among those rows that seem to cling to the mountain like a climber’s hands. With the wind descending from the peaks, caressing the plants all year long. And the valley that seems to slip beneath your feet.
It’s there that Sopraquota 900 stops being just a wine and becomes what it truly is. A liquid tale of altitude. Effort. And alpine precision. A champion born where the vine must first learn to resist. To then show who it really is. In the capable hands of Rosset Terroir.
