Grumello - Two Bottles From The Greatest Vintage Ever

It is not that often I drink wines from Grumello, or for that matter any wine from the other subzones of Valtellina, like Maroggia, Sassella, Inferno or Valgella. Or the unique Sfursat, made from dried grapes.
But now, two bottles from 1964. Both these producers are mentioned by Burton Anderson in his book Vino (1980) - "Two important wineries here, Nino Negri and Arturo Pelizzatti" and he notes about the vintage 1964 in Valtellina - "Great, long lived".
Lets see!

1964 Grumello, Nino Negri
Nino Negri has been a frequent producer in the state monopoly´s assortment and their Sfursat 5 Stelle have been drunk on several occasions over the years.
This old gentleman has deep, mature, lovely Nebbiolo nose with notes of rosehips, dried cherries, mushrooms with a hint of truffle, raspberry licorice and moist forest floor. Very, very good. A hint of rubber comes along with air. From decanting this evolves for 3-4 hours and keeps on that level for 2-3 hours more.
The taste is big, round and with a fine dried up sweetness, with notes of dried cherries, rosehips, ceps and old chocolate. A long, warm finish. This has aged very well and are not in decline in any way. Very, very good.
90p   (tasted 2014/10)

1964 Grumello, Ditta A. Pelizzatti
This hasn´t on the other hand faired as well over the years. The nose is a bit hollow with notes of sweet/sour cherries, orange peel, raspberry vinegar and a some animal scents. Still hanging in there, but barely so.
The taste is better than the nose with notes of dried cherries, old tobacco, lingonberries and dried mushrooms. A bit short but a nice warmth in the finish. Good with food but this is on the downhill slope.
79p   (tasted 2014/10)