Nebbiolo Colline Novaresi

Wines

This is Nebbiolo as the foothills of the Alps make it — lighter on its feet than its cousins south in the Langhe, and built for the table rather than the cellar.

Le Piane is the estate that brought the Boca appellation back from near-extinction, and this is the wine that opens the door to it. Ninety-five percent Nebbiolo — Spanna, as they call it up here — with a touch of Vespolina for lift. Six days on the skins, nine months in steel, and nothing else. No oak, no weight, nothing standing between you and the fruit.

Appellation: Colline Novaresi DOC

Type: Red, dry

Blend: 95% Nebbiolo (locally Spanna), 5% Vespolina

Wine Details:

Tasting Notes:

Color: Pale to medium ruby, translucent.

Bouquet: Immediately fragrant — wild strawberry, raspberry and sour cherry, with the rose and violet that mark Nebbiolo everywhere it grows, and a lift of alpine herb and dried spice from the Vespolina.

Palate: The palate is where the Alto Piemonte signature shows: crisp, saline and light on its feet, with bright acidity and fine, silky tannins that grip without weight.

Alcohol: 13.0–13.5%

Total Acidity: 5.0–5.2 g/L

Serving Suggestion: 16°C (60°F)

Pairing: Salumi and prosciutto, risotto with mushrooms or saffron, veal, roast poultry, tomato-based pastas, and the local pairing, Gorgonzola from just down the road in Novara province.

Vinyard Notes:

Estate: Eight hectares in and around Boca, farmed by Christoph Künzli on the vineyards he recovered from Antonio Cerri beginning in 1988. The Novara hills sit at the foot of the Alps on volcanic porphyry, a cool-climate zone with a growing season considerably longer and later than the Langhe.

Winemaking Notes:

Harvest: By hand, with sorting at the vine

Fermentation: Six days on the skins with one pump-over daily

Aging: Approximately nine months in stainless steel. No wood at any stage.

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