Nebbiolo grape variety

Sibi et paucis – "for oneself and a select few". Under this Latin motto, the Sandrone family sets aside a small portion of its Nebbiolo production each year to be aged in the perfect conditions of its own wine cellar. The Valmaggiore is given four years' additional ageing beyond the regular release – time that allows the Nebbiolo from the Roero to develop in a way that requires nothing but patience.

The grapes for Clerico's entry-level Barolo come from younger vines in the top vineyards of Pajana, Ciabot Mentin and Percristina (Mosconi). The 2021 vintage is considered one of the best of the last decade: a balanced vegetation cycle with warm, sunny days and cool nights promoted even ripening and preserved the concise acidity structure. In the glass, it shines a rich garnet red with ruby-coloured reflections. The nose reveals a clear, complex aroma of ripe cherry, dark plum and dried rose, complemented by hints of violet, tobacco, liquorice and a fine, balsamic note. Powerful and precise on the palate, with juicy fruit, present, well-integrated acidity and taut, fine-grained tannins that promise a long development. The 2021 still needs to develop a little, but the essential components are already very convincing today. SUPERIORE.DE

The great Barolo Ciabot Mentin Ginestra from the historic Clerico vineyard. Bright garnet red colour. Open-hearted bouquet of ripe fruit and spices, the elegant tannins are accompanied by a pleasant freshness in the complex flavour, deep and long on the finish. SUPERIORE.DE

The loose, sandy soils of Cannubi always ensure a special concentration of flavour, and this is particularly evident in this classic vintage. A clean bouquet of small red berries, violets and dried rose petals. A fine mineral note, a pinch of salt and plenty of fruit and a clearly contoured tannin structure on the multi-layered palate. A beautifully straightforward wine, powerful and elegant. SUPERIORE.DE

2019 is considered one of the vintage highlights of the last decade in Barolo: cool nights, sunny days and a long vegetation period led to perfectly balanced ripeness. In Bricco Pernice, this meant maximum aromatic clarity and structural depth. The high, south-westerly exposure in the Ravera cru site ensures an interplay of warmth and freshness, while the calcareous marl soils promote a taut, vertical style.

Since the 1990 vintage, Sandrone has been blending Nebbiolo from several vineyards, an ancient local art that is gradually gaining ground here. It began with Vignane in Barolo and Merli in Novello, followed in 2010 by Baudana in Serralunga d'Alba, in 2011 by Villero in Castiglione Falletto, and in 2019 Le Coste di Monforte in Monforte d'Alba completed the project. Each vineyard is harvested and fermented separately, spontaneously with natural yeasts in open stainless-steel tanks; ageing in LitersFrench oak barrels also takes place separately, and it is only at the very end that the batches are blended together – this is the concept behind Le Vigne. The wine is then left to rest in the bottle for 18 months. The 2022 vintage produced slightly smaller grapes than usual, healthy and well-balanced, following a dry autumn, snow in early December and heavy spring rain. The harvest took place from 26 September to 6 October, around two weeks earlier than usual.

The Ciabot Mentin vineyard is located in the Ginestra area and represents the uppermost part of the hill, whose fruit is planted at 410 metres above sea level. This vineyard was planted in 1978. Like the other Clerico Baroli, it matures both in barriques (eight months) and in the bottle (one year). Ciabot Mentin opens with fleshy, floral aromas of lilac and dried lavender that give way to wild berries, cherries and candied orange peel. There is virtually none of the tar or asphalt-like tones often found in Nebbiolo here. Instead, the wine reveals bright primary fruits and a delicate, ethereal complexity. It is gentle, refined, silky and very long. SUPERIORE.DE

A beautiful, very sensual, feminine wine that is only vinified in the best vintages. Exquisitely flavoured with dark fruit, elegant and fine on the palate with plenty of fruit and length. It was named after the nickname once given to the young wild Clerico by his father: Aeroplan Servaj - wild aeroplane. And the labelling is just as wild and creative - there are six different labels! SUPERIORE.DE

Il Bricco rises above Treiso to an altitude of around 400 metres. The vines are on average around four decades old. Selective hand-picking, parcel-by-parcel fermentation in stainless steel, patient malolactic fermentation. Maturation takes place predominantly in large oak barrels, accompanied by a smaller proportion of French oak for additional polish. 2019 is considered a textbook year in Barbaresco: a moderate summer, large day-night amplitudes and a long, dry autumn led to a late harvest and fully mature phenolics. The wines show density and vertical tension with excellent freshness – a profile with staying power.

Barolo Cerretta Vigna Bricco Riserva 2018 comes from an exposed, high-altitude parcel in Serralunga d'Alba. The soils here are characterised by calcareous marl with iron- and manganese-rich inclusions, which give the wine an unmistakable, cool radiance and distinctive tannin structure. The south-east orientation ensures even sunshine, while cool night winds preserve the aromatic precision of the grapes. The 2018 vintage was characterised by a mild spring, followed by a warm but not extremely hot summer, which allowed the Nebbiolo to ripen gently and evenly. The harvest was not carried out until October, selectively and by hand, in order to bring in only perfectly ripe harvest. The wine was matured for 30 months in barriques, a small proportion of which were new, followed by several years of ageing in the bottle, as required by the Riserva status.

Gaja's Barolo Dagromis still flies under everyone's radar ... because Barolo Dagromis 2020 shows how tradition steeped in history and modern precision can be perfectly balanced. It bears its name in homage to the Gromis family, former owners of these historic parcels near La Morra – today married to the vineyards of Serralunga, whose cuvée is skilfully crafted. Each parcel delivers its Nebbiolo separately for fermentation, undergoes long maceration periods and matures for twelve months in barriques, followed by a further twelve months in large wooden barrels and bottle ageing.

Names carry stories. Dagromis tells of an encounter that took place in 1995, when Angelo Gaja acquired a ten-hectare estate in La Morra – from the hands of the Gromis family, who had lived there since the 19th century. "Da Gromis" means "by the Gromis" in Italian, a linguistic nod to the people who shaped these slopes for generations. It is a nod to the past and at the same time a statement of the present: Gaja in Barolo, not just in Barbaresco. The vineyards are located in two of Barolo's most important terroirs: La Morra and Serralunga d'Alba. The grapes from La Morra come from the legendary Cerequio cru – the south-east exposed part from which the great Conteisa also comes – and from the Silio vineyard. Grapes from Serralunga, directly adjacent to the Sperss vineyard, give the wine the strength and structure for which this municipality is famous. The vinification follows Gaja's philosophy of separate processing: each vineyard is fermented separately, macerated and matured for twelve months in small French barriques. Only then are the wines blended and matured for a further eighteen months in large tonneau barrels. A total of thirty months before the wine is bottled – time that you can taste.

First bottled in 1967, Roncaglie (formerly Barbaresco Masseria) comes from a vineyard in Bricco di Neive and is essentially vinified and aged like a Barolo. Since the 2018 vintage, it now comes from a small parcel that used to belong to the Socré Barbaresco winery and is now deliberately released a year later to ensure greater harmony and balance. Floral and spicy notes merge with a core of rich, generous fruit in a generous Barbaresco based on pure resonance. Barbaresco Roncaglie is vinified and matured in the same way as Vietti's single-vineyard Barolos. This means long fermentation, six months in French oak and more than two years in barrique. This, together with the broad shoulders of Neive, results in a noble Nebbiolo with clear hints of Barolo and impressive depth. SUPERIORE.DE

The single-vineyard Barbaresco Riserva Ovello is, as always, one of the outstanding wines in this series. It shows the energy and tension so typical of this site, but with a slightly more mature profile than is the norm. Ovello dives straight into the volatile Nebbiolo aromas, with a focus on liquorice, tar, blue flowers and campfire ash. The palate is full-bodied, with flavours of crushed raspberries, juicy Marasca cherries, liquorice and nutmeg as well as firm, tight-knit tannins. The fresh acidity provides tension and balance. Looking at the timeline of Riserva wines, this wine reaches the magical threshold at which Nebbiolo begins to unfold its unique aromatic appeal and mystique ... SUPERIORE.DE

As always, Castiglione is mainly based on grapes from Ravera, with smaller portions from Ginestra, Mosconi, Bricco Ravera (in Monforte), Le Coste, Costabelle, Meriame, Briccolina and Codana. Every year it is a dazzling wine that shows how convincing even an "entry-level wine" from a top producer can be. Rich, voluptuous and explosive, it has enormous fullness and resonance from the very first sip. On the nose, bright red cherry and plum fruit, wild flowers, mint, blood orange and spices. Its silky tannins are accompanied by a beautiful, mentholated brightness. A real charmer! SUPERIORE.DE

Bricco di Treiso 2021 comes from the single vineyard of the same name, one of the highest parcels in the appellation, where the vines are rooted on calcareous marl soils in a cool microclimate. The 2021 vintage brought ideal conditions: a cool spring, followed by a balanced summer and a long, dry autumn – perfect for the slow ripening of the Nebbiolo. After a long maceration period, the wine matured in large oak barrels and a small proportion of barriques. In the glass, it is garnet-red in colour with delicate orange reflections and notes of rose, sour cherry, liquorice and light spice on the nose. On the palate, it is powerful yet finely characterised, with precise acidity, cool fruit and saline depth. The tannins are present but silky and interwoven – a Barbaresco of austere beauty, great transparency and with long ageing potential. SUPERIORE.DE

Ornato, Serralunga d'Alba, that is: stony limestone marl, warm vats with good aeration, the south/south-west exposure ensures deep ripeness, the altitude ensures balance. Hand-picked, separate vinification in stainless steel, extended maceration time. Maturation in large barrels is supplemented by a small proportion of barriques/tonneaux – more for texture than flavour. 2020 offered a stable summer and clear nights for the harvest: ripe harvest, supple phenolics, brilliant fruit.

The single vineyard Il Bricco, situated on both sides of the hilltop, the highest point is about 410 metres above sea level. Family-owned since the 1970s, you can expect great things every year. 2020 brought a stable summer, with a precise cooling in September and cool nights until the harvest. The result is very healthy, aromatically ripe grapes with clear fruit and balanced acidity – charming on the palate, yet precise and persistent. After separate fermentation of the batches in stainless steel, the wine is matured traditionally in large barrels and a moderate proportion of barrique is used for texture.

The number three is quite something. For Pythagoras, it links the one with the two; in the Neapolitan tombola, it represents the cat; Christians think of the Holy Trinity; Hindus think of Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu; and the Chinese think of Heaven, Earth and Man. With Nebbiolo, too, we count to three: there are three major regions, and the family attributes the elegance of this brandy to them. The Nebbiolo pomace comes from selected producers in the typical growing regions and is distilled batch by batch in a steam-heated copper still. It is then aged for eight years, with a blend of different woods and toasting levels. It is stored in underground cellars that maintain their temperature without air conditioning or heating. The sun, which warms the grapes, and these years of ageing are, in the house's view, what make the brandy so good.

The 2020 Barbaresco Bernadot comes from one of the coolest and highest cru sites in the municipality of Treiso, whose sandy, chalky soils and exposed south-east exposure give the Nebbiolo particular precision and aromatic clarity. The year was characterised by a warm spring, followed by a stable summer with cool nights, which ensured slow, even ripening and preserved the freshness of the wine.