“Boca” Rosso Boca DOC 2020

Le Piane | Piedmont
Le Piane srl s.a. | Via Cerri, 10 | IT 28010 Boca

05462520 · 0,75 l · 89,33 €/l · Price (DE) incl. VAT, excl. Shipping< 24 units available

Before there was Barolo, before Barbaresco bore its name, there was Boca. In 1300, a chronicler from Novara described the wines from these hills as "famous since ancient times". Perhaps even before the Romans. Today, seven centuries later, Boca is almost forgotten – a DOC with barely more than 15 hectares, surrounded by woods that were once vineyards. The fact that we have this wine in our glass at all is thanks to a Swiss man who decided to revitalise a dying appellation at the end of the 1990s. Christoph Künzli took over Antonio Cerri's legacy and with him a philosophy that knows no compromise: large barrels, long ageing, no intervention. The Boca is made from 85% Nebbiolo – here called Spanna – and 15% Vespolina, the capricious grape variety that contributes spice and floral sweetness without masking the structure of the Nebbiolo. The grapes come from the Traversagna and Le Piane parcels, where vines between 30 and 60 years old are rooted in volcanic porphyry soils – a terroir that is unrivalled in Italy. Harvested in mid-October, thirty days on the skins, punched down daily by hand. Then aged for three to four years in large Slavonian oak vats, followed by one year of bottle ageing. No filtration. No rush.

Garnet red in the glass with an orange rim – a wine that signals fine Nebbiolo maturity right from the start. The nose opens with violets and dried cherries, followed by tobacco, leather and a hint of tar. On the palate, it develops power and silky elegance at the same time: densely woven, with fine tannins, lively acidity and a final that lingers for minutes – earthy, balsamic, with that noble, bitter note that makes the terroir of Boca unmistakable. A wine for decades. And a monument to those who have not given up. SUPERIORE.DE

"The 2020 Boca will delight fans of the estate, as it looks to be a wine that can be enjoyed with minimal cellaring. Sweet tobacco, spice, cedar and macerated cherry fill out the layers, framed by soft, silky tannins that pull it all together. The Le Piane Boca is one of the great, iconic wines of Alto Piemonte." Vinous