Valentini is perhaps the hardest winery in the world to visit. Letters and phone calls go unanswered, and very little information is made public. Edoardo Valentini, who died in 2006 at the age of 72, refused nearly all requests for meetings from journalists and importers. His son Francesco Paolo and grandson Gabriele have kept up the tradition.
Yet the wines are some of Italy’s greatest, and the secrecy only adds to their allure. Before Edoardo Valentini (and his only rival, the equally eccentric Emidio Pepe) local grapes Trebbiano and Montepulciano were considered nothing special. But thanks to a fanatical devotion to quality that includes selling 95% of the crop off in bulk, Valentini’s wines achieve a level of quality that previously seemed impossible. The Trebbiano has the elegance and poise of top white Burgundy, with a unique density and textural richness. The Montepulciano is only made in some vintages, but the delicate, Pinot-like Cerasualo rosato may be even more delicious.
In parallel with the wines, Valentini produce one of the world’s best artisan olive oils, which they are equally enthusiastic about. Made from a local cultivar known as Dritta, it is an oil to be appreciated sparingly, grown, selected and gently processed with the same devotion to quality as the wines.
