2018 La Vedetta Langhe Nebbiolo

Variety: Nebbiolo

Region: Langhe < Piemonte < Italy

Vineyard/cellar stats: Organic farming; soils are mixed clays with a large amount of limestone plus some sand; 8-10 day maceration to preserve freshness of fruit then fermented/aged in stainless steel tanks until following April, when wine is bottled, unfined/unfiltered, with minimal added So2; 14.5% ABV; 166 cases

Winemaker: Marco Viglino & Swantje Rausch

La Vedetta winery is an organic farm in the heart of the vine-covered rolling hills of Barbaresco, famous for its great soils, magical micro-climates and amazing views, home of Marco Viglino and his partner Swantje Rausch, along with Dino the truffle hound.  Local boy Marco met Swantje in the marketing department of one of the world’s largest candy company, Ferrero, whose founder bought hazelnuts from Marco’s grandfather as he built the food empire of Nutella, Tic Tac and millions of cake bars that have graced the breakfast tables up and down Italy for generations.  Fast-forward to the early 2000s, when Marco left Ferraro, turned his attention to the estate's vines, and dove into making wine on the family farm, with Swantje at his side.  The duo is only farming 3.5 hectares of vineyards, as the main business remains hazelnuts for Ferrero Rocher's chocolate products.  While the farm has always harvested grapes for sale to other producers, now Marco and Swantje are producing what they describe as naked wines, representing the pure terroir of their land.

This cuveé is 100% Nebbiolo from the same vineyard as their fancy Barbaresco, Cà Grossa Cru.  According to Marco, making a ‘naked’ Nebbiolo, without wood aging, is “not so typical” in his part of Barbaresco.  Nevertheless, he makes this one in stainless steel, to better to preserve the intensely floral freshness of his organically-farmed fruit. The fruit is bright (red raspberry and black cherry) with some of Nebbiolo's famous dusty rose and smooth tannins — easy drinking, but still very complex and balanced.  There's enough body to stand up to meaty, porky things, sure, but there's also enough softness here to enjoy on its own, or chilled, with a hunk of aged cheese.  We're loving this modern take on Barbaresco!