The Italian portion of the trip started Thursday morning, July 6 high up in the Almondo family’s top site for Roero Arneis: Bricco delle Ciliegie. The conditions there are perfect for making lifted, fine Arneis for two reasons: First, Ciliegie is the highest point of elevation in Roero, nearing 400 meters. And second, the layers of alternating limestone, clay, and sand are unique to this small part of Roero just north of the village of Montà. With Domenico, Federico, and Stefano Almondo, we rambled the windy, steep slopes to a rhythm of cicada chirps. At each row end, we stopped to catch a breath and wipe the sweat from our brows as we admired the diversity of wildflowers and fruit trees. In the flesh, Ciliegie is always a reminder of why these wines can be so expressive, as is it’s rosso sibling.
The highlights included the 2022 Roero Arneis Bricco delle Ciliegie (tasted at the top of Ciliegie), a beautifully aromatic wine, redolent of mint, ginger, anise, and stone fruit, with a fresh salinity and vibrant finish that goes on forever. Then in the Almondo’s restored ciabot in Bric Valdiana, a taste of 2020 Roero Bric Valdiana—light in color, with a delicate bouquet of fresh flowers, red cherries, baking spices, and a mid-palate full of finely layered fruit. The calcareous soils of Valdiana impart a stony minerality behind its structure and length. It’s a Nebbiolo built on elegance with great purity and complexity—an amazing start to our Piedmont schedule!
Back at the winery, the dark cloud that appeared over Montà halfway through our tomato-mozzarella lunch didn’t seem to bother the Almondos at first. They were happy to see some rain in the forecast after a dry stretch of early summer. Then the wind picked up and the sky turned a more ominous shade of dark. After the first few thunder rumbles pulsated the walls, the tranquil faces of Domenico and his sons from minutes earlier went white—that moment and everything after, we’ll never forget. In just ten minutes, white marbles ricocheted off the floor-to-ceiling glass windows and into the courtyard, putting an abrupt end to lunch. We watched and waited with our fingers crossed, hoping the stripe of hail that we’d just seen lapidate the lone, courtyard Ginko tree had skirted the vines. Then in an instant, it passed.
As the Almondos prepared to head out for damage assessment, we said our goodbyes and buona fortuna and then slowly drove away through the white-out fog in a freshly pock-marked Alfa Romeo. It was a reminder of how precarious the lives of farmers can be. The next day we received a text from Stefano—they’d estimated that 80% of Vigne Sparse had been wiped out along with 15% of Ciliegie.
Like in Montà, elevation, rich biodiversity, and a distinct soil type separate Az. Vv. Gianni Doglia from many of their Asti peers. Calcareous soils abound the upper reaches of Gianni and sister, Paola Doglia’s home village of Castagnole delle Lanza. Limestone minerality shines through each of the wines, from the high-toned, old-vine Moscato Casa di Bianca, to the intense floral character and blackberry zing of Ruchè. The Barberas are generous while delineated, as red and black fruits are strung together by a fine bead of acidity. There’s incredible bang for the buck from this cheery estate… We should taste it ASAP.
It comes as no surprise to me that the gifted Sergio Germano has emerged in the Langhe as one of the most revered wine growers in the area, especially for his versatility. His dad, Ettore, was long recognized as a master grafter—specifically of Dolcetto—and for decades, growers from all over the appellation paid Ettore by the vine to replant their vineyards. Sergio took over in ’93, marrying formidable winemaking know-how with his family’s rich tradition and old Serralunga vines. Then an insatiable curiosity led him to a mountain of chalky limestone 30 minutes southwest of his home in the sleepy village of Cigliè. What started as an experiment turned into a major undertaking when in 1998, Sergio planted Riesling, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir for the production of a dry Riesling (Herzu) and Alta Langa (Spumante). He would later plant Nebbiolo (for Langhe Nebbiolo) and even some Meunier for experimentation. It’s a spectacular vineyard full of wildflowers and bees between the rows, featuring many aspects and elevations ranging from 500 to 600 meters and with dizzying views way down to the Tanaro River below. We’ll bring in the Alta Langa for Sergio’s visit this fall: a blend of 70% Pinot Noir to 30% Chardonnay with the base coming from the 2019 vintage. It’s high-toned and savory, smelling just like that magical garden with a stony peach mid-palate that finishes bone dry and electric-fresh. The Blanc de Blancs 2016 is a powerful, persistent wine, redolent of golden apple cream, and finishes a mile long. On the Serralunga side, the 2019 Baroli are structured vins de garde that are downright classics. I convinced Sergio that a library offer of more mature wines to accompany the ‘19s might be a good idea. Stay tuned on that offer, but I’m pretty sure we’ll have ‘10, ’13, and ’14 Cerretta this fall as well. Great visit.
Dogliani represents the wild side of the Langhe. Monoculture is non-existent with wide swaths of orchards, hazelnut trees, sunflowers, and wheat growing in and around old Dolcetto vines. Biodiversity has always been a part of the local culture—the irony being that it’s something the more prestigious Barolo area is trying to return to.
Anna María Abbona’s Dolcetto parcels were planted by her grandfather on the steep slopes of Farigliano in the heart of the Dogliani appellation. 2021 Maioli, a pure Dogliani from a parcel planted in 1936, is dark and powerful yet lifted, bursting from the glass with purple flowers followed by deeply intense fruit and dusted with baking spices. It will change your perception of Dolcetto. With an organic protocol, a traditional embrace of biodiversity, and the old vines as a foundation, Anna Maria is putting her pieces in place for the future. Her two young sons, Lorenzo and Federico, are now heading investments in new vineyards for Alta Langhe and in Monforte, which includes a small plot in Bricco San Pietro. Federico is largely in the vines in both Dogliani and Monforte while Lorenzo has taken the lead in the cellar. Their 2019 Barolo Bricco San Pietro is elegant and racy due to its high elevation and with a firmness and minerality that is textbook, Monforte. Q4 arrival… stay tuned.
Biodiversity has always been a keystone at Elio Grasso. The flagship monopole, Gavarini, is sandwiched by a thick forest at the top and bottom of the hill. Both areas would fall under the Barolo designation if planted, but to clear the forest for the top line would be a terrible mistake. Gianluca, like Elio, maintains that the rich biodiversity from the forest is the surest way to promote both health in the vineyard and terroir transparency in the wines, which today are among the best in Langhe.
New releases, 2022 Dolcetto dei Grassi and Langhe Nebbiolo Gavarini, are aromatically dynamic with pristine fruit and classic Monforte cut. Next year’s release of 2020 Baroli are more forward and silkier than the classic and wound-up 2019s. Look for those in February of next year. Last thing, 2016 Runcöt Riserva is flat-out the best wine that has ever been made at the estate—a wine Antonio Galloni has deemed a perfect 100 and one that I should do some sort of tasting event around. Stay tuned.
The modern story of Proprietà Sperino began in the library of Paolo de Marchi’s grandmother’s house on the Via Sperino in the center of Lessona. It’s a place where time has stopped, where the calendar on the wall is dated 1921 and stacks of 120-year-old National Geographic magazines lie next to 19th-century vintage notes and weather reports penned by the amazingly progressive Felice Sperino, the old estate’s last proprietor.
As early as the 1870s, the Sperinos, de Marchi’s ancestors on his mother’s side, were traveling to Beaune to attend lectures on massale selection. The worldly Sperinos were also fanatic recorders of the great vineyards of Lessona and Bramaterra in the 19th century—roughly 125 years before the Monprivatos or Brunates of the Langhe ever made it onto a map. By the time a young Paolo de Marchi discovered the texts while passing summers at his grandmother’s house in Lessona, most of, if not all of these great Alto Piemontese vineyards had been abandoned and swallowed by the forest since the turn of the 20th century. For a great history of Alto Piemonte please follow the link above.
The giants detailed in Felice’s journals would wait for a curious mind like Luca de Marchi, Paolo’s oldest son, for their awakening. Starting around 2000, Luca combed the old texts and discovered Vigne Covà, a miniature Corton-shaped hill with almost every exposure to the sun. Using Felice’s notes as his guide, Luca identified several more of the ancient Grand Crus of Lessona and slowly sought to restore the hills the family owned and acquire as many as more as he could. Vigne Covà was part of the old Sperino estate, so it was planted first, starting in 2000, 2004, and then again to completion in 2010. Luca believes it’s the finest site of the estate and thus decided to produce a single-vineyard bottling starting in 2015. These sandy, acidic soils of ancient-volcanic origin are extremely low vigor, which aside from extreme hail exposure in the area, is the reason the vines were abandoned in the first place! The resulting wines, are therefore like nothing else in Piemonte. They are vividly aromatic, with layers of deeply concentrated, fresh fruit and the absolute finest of tannins. If we haven’t already, let’s taste!
— Chris McGowan
