The Ottin 2018 Vallée d'Aoste Petite Arvine is a terrific take on this expressive grape that loves the high altitudes and glacier soils of this remote and beautiful corner of Northern Italy. There are layers of crisp pear, minty apple and sweet nectarine that add lots of fresh personality and lift to the bouquet. The fruit comes from 50-year-old vines, and you can taste sensations of salty mineral and crushed stone. This wine is an ideal match to an appetizer of raw coquillages.

I just love the 2017 Vallée d'Aoste Petite Arvine. This gorgeous wine shines from deep inside in terms of its luminous appearance and its aromatic intensity. This glossy, polished white wine reveals flinty mountain minerality with slate and pencil shavings followed by white peach and mild grapefruit. The wine flows evenly over the palate, thanks to its lean to mid-weight approach and natural creaminess. Fruit comes from 50-year-old vines straddling the Italy-Switzerland border. Some 12,000 bottles were made. You get so much unique personality here.

The 2012 Vallée d'Aoste Petite Arvine reveals bright luminosity and a pretty, golden straw color. The bouquet shows drying tones of crushed mineral with yellow fruit and pressed rose at the back. Pear, honey and cantaloup melon play supporting roles. Petite Arvine is a grape variety that is only planted in Valle d'Aosta and in other tiny spots in the far north of Italy.