Yearning Nebbiolo
Brovia Piedmonte Nebbiolo d'Alba 2017
The grapes for Brovia's Nebbiolo are harvested from sandy soils on the steep and high-lying Valmaggiore field in Roero, a half-hour drive north of Barolo. The field is called Valmaggiore and the wine is called Valmaggione. The grapes for Brovia's Nebbiolo d'Alba - Valmaggione are harvested by hand, typically in mid-October. Then they are pressed and fermented in temperature-controlled tanks for 10-15 days at 25-29 degrees. The wine is then stored for a minimum of 18 months, then bottled without any kind of filtration. The combination of high-lying vineyards, cool climate and the absence of cask, results in a terroir-based, unadulterated, magnificent and bell-clear Nebbiolo expression devoid of refined cellar techniques. It is worth noting that the annual production is a paltry 200 boxes, and a very modest part of these find their way to Denmark.
Eugenio Bocchino Langhe Nebbiolo “Roccabella” 2017
This tiny production Nebbiolo hails from Eugenio and Cinzia’s Roccabella vineyard (1.5 ha) which is located a stone’s throw from La Morra, specifically in Roddi D’Alba. The vineyard has a South/South East exposure and it’s located at 250m a.s.l. The soils are clay and limestone and the vines are grown organically and biodynamically. Vinified in stainless steel through spontaneous fermentation with no temperature control and macerated for about 60 days with a submerged cap technique. Roccabella undergoes an élevage in large durmast barrels of 25 and 32 HL for 12-14 months and 2-3 months in cement and bottle. The wine is unrefined, unfiltered and has a very low sulfite count.
Eugenio Bocchino Langhe Nebbiolo “La Perucca” 2012
Their La Perucca vineyard is above the house where Eugenio grew up, and where they now live with their daughter, Lu, overlooking Alba, near the border between Barolo and Barbaresco, just outside the DOCG zones. The clay and sand soil has more sand than in the vineyards in the Barolo DOCG. They planted this vineyard as their first serious foray into wine. It was the birth of a “labor of love” since they were starting from scratch without direct experience from their families or studies in school. (Eugenio’s university studies were in business and Cinzia’s in natural sciences.) After fermenting the juice in stainless steel, afterwards it spends 30 months in large barrels and 2 years in the bottle before release.
Giacomo Fenocchio Langhe Nebbiolo 2018
Small family business with production from approx. 10 ha of land located in the heart of the Barolo district near Alba. The Fenocchio family, now in its fifth generation, stubbornly adheres to the old traditions of winemaking in a wine world that is otherwise becoming increasingly modern and technically oriented.
The grapes are harvested in mid-October from a 2 ha vineyard in a hilly zone around 300m a.s.l. As a traditional method the fermentation of the grapes happens with contact of its skins, without added yeasts, for around 10 days in stainless steel tanks. Afterwards it is aged for six months in stainless steel tanks, six months in large Slavonian oak casks and then matured in the bottle. Very small production of 9000 bottles a year.