Piedmonte

A Prosecco is a prosecco, right? Well, yes, but this one has a little bit of that next level dry taste and intensity about it, while retaining fresh, crisp, citrusy notes too. 

Highly appealing and super refreshing. Top value sparkling wine buying. Certified Organic.

A rewarding, savoury and deliciously complex red blend of two great Italian red grapes - Barbera and Nebbiolo, which combine very happily in this juicy, earthy, sensationally complex and layered red. It is medium bodied, completely dry and rewardingly savoury, without any aspect of astringency. It's an outstanding wine at the price. 

This is a top notch everyday sparkling wine from the epicentre of the world's most popular bubbles today, the Veneto, in north east Italy - home to Prosecco.

Clean, fresh and lemony in taste, it offers a medium bubble and lingering lightly fruity finish, making it very good value for money for high quality Prosecco.

Hand harvested grapes were selected to make this lovely dry, next level Prosecco, which is produced by the Bortolin family - now in its fourth generation of winemaking. 

100% Arneis from the Roero Arneis DOCG

The grapes are selected from vineyards located in the middle of the Roero region, in Santo Stefano Roero. The vineyards are approximately 25 years old and are planted with 4.500-5.000 vines per hectare. Harvest starts around mid-September and the grapes are first pressed and then clarified. Alcoholic fermentation occurs in stainless steel autoclave at lower temperature (14-16?C, 57-60? F) to preserve some natural CO2 from the fermentation.

The wine does not undergo malolactic fermentation to preserve acidity and freshness and is held in stainless steel tanks on fine lees until bottling.

Description: Pale straw yellow color with fresh floral, citrus and melon aromas with almond hints. An unoaked, dry, medium bodied white wine with crisp acidity, the Arneis is well-balanced, elegant wine with good complexity and a lingering finish.

Food Pairings: As an aperitif with light hors d?oeuvres, crudit?s, seafood, salads, light soups, simply prepared veal, pork, chicken and creamy cheese.

Arneis is a white grape varietal from the Piedmont region in Italy. This wine is tangy, dry and full-bodied. The nose is bright and floral with a fresh pear quality. The palate is rich with stone-fruit and a light nuttiness.

Dolcetto is a one of the hidden treasures of Piemonte with its smooth rounded mouthfeel and impressive body and drinkability. This is a deliciously complex example from Dogliani in the region. 

Plantings of this grape declined in the 1990?s in favour of the more expensive, easier to market Barolo and Barberescos. It came down to money, not quality and quietly the wine world mourned. Luckily a few faithful enclaves remained faithful to the grape like in Dogliani just south of Alba.

The wine is jet black in colour with a sumptuous nose of blackberries dusted with exotic spices - fruity with great length and structure.

Outstanding savoury expression of Nebbiolo from the mountainous village of Carema, bordering Valle d'Aosta in north west Italy. Red fruit notes underpin the powerful but silky tannins and the long spicy finish is complex, rewarding and sensationally statuesque. A commanding wine.

Small is never a word to use when describing any wine made from the Nebbiolo grape variety but it does fit aptly for Carema DOC, one of the greatest wines to pass my lips so far this year. Not that it is small in taste or lacks for flavour (far from it) but the volumes made are minuscule compared to other regions. Only 55 thousand bottles are produced.
The producer is a quality focussed wine cooperative, which makes sense, given that Carema is a small village and the area can only produce limited volumes of Nebbiolo each year. Cantina dei Produttori Nebbiolo di Carema is renowned for producing excellent wines and this is an excellent example.

* Carema was one of first wines from Piedmont to attain Controlled Designation of Origin status when it was awarded DOC in July 1967.

"Amazing wine of power," we wrote in our notes after tasting this maverick blend of Nebbiolo, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon from the great Gaja family in Barbaresco, in Piemonte, north west Italy. This wine is produced along biodynamic guidelines and is named after the site of Moresco, hence Sito Moresco; a reference to the previous owner of the vineyard, to whom Angelo Gaja and his daughter, Gaia Gaja both want to pay tribute. 

On the face of things, it can sometimes seem at odds with the strong personalities of both Cabernet Sauvignon and Nebbiolo to blend them both together, but it works in this wine because both get to express themselves, with Merlot adding juicy ripe flavours.

Outstanding new vintage 2019 Barolo from a classic producer. Giacomo Fenocchio has a reputation for producing classic traditional Barolo with traditional long maceration times, of up to 40 days on skins with natural indigenous yeasts. 

The result is a group of stellar Barolos that can age for between 10 to 20 years in good cellaring conditions and which offer exceptional value for money. The style is savoury all the way from the clean, fresh, earthy note to the rich mushroom, truffle, tar and roses notes that typifies great Barolo. This wine punches above its weight for its price and will age gracefully.

Delicate but powerful full bodied red made from Nebbiolo grown in the mountains in north west Italy. This is a stunning wine made in small volumes and imported in even lower volumes. 

If you love Italian wines, this is a must buy.

The Ovello site has more clay, and the resulting wines are plump and fruit forward meaning they often drink earlier, as well as being super age worthy too. Classic ripe cherry notes that develop autumnal qualities and  more of the tar and spice that Barbaresco is famous for with age.

Ovello is one of the great red wines of Italy and is made entirely from the great structured red grape, Nebbiolo; exceptional in taste, complexity and its ability to age for at least a decade, evolving into a silky delicious wine over this time. It's made by the Produttori del Barbaresco. This highly respected winery cooperative was founded in 1958 and now has 51 members who collectively own approximately 100 hectares of the entire appellation, which means they own approximately a seventh of the appellation. The single vineyard wines, such as this one, are only made in highly rated vintages (all of the grapes go into a blend in other years) and released after four years maturation in the riserva programme. 

All single vineyard cru wines from Produttori del Barbaresco are fermented at 30?C and given 32 days of skin contact time before being pressed in large oak barrels for 36 months of maturation in wood followed by a further nine months aging in bottle, prior to release. 

Fast facts on Barbaresco

Barbaresco as an appellation was created in 1894

Barbaresco was given DOCG status in 1980

This is a small wine production area with approximately 700 hectares of vineyards registered to make Barbaresco ? which must be 100% Nebbiolo and made within the same sub region in which the grapes are grown. 

Ever heard of Pelaverga?

It's not exactly a household name, even in the households of wine lovers. It is the name of a red grape grown in Piemonte in north west Italy. Even in its homeland there, it's pretty rare, and best known for making light, smooth fruity reds, such as this one, which is an interesting different take on northern Italian red wine.

100% Nebbiolo from the commune of Castiglione Falletto where the vines have an average age of between 35 to 50 years and grow at an altitude of 250 to 300 metres on calcareous marl soils facing south west. Vinification is in stainless steel and aging in traditional oak casks. 

Tasting Note: 100% Nebbiolo from 40 year old vines. Aged 20 months in French barriques, 50% new. Ruby red colour, a highly perfumed nose with youthful flowers underpinned by earthiness. The palate is rich and structured, with warmth and gentle tannins.

Alcohol: 14.5%

Variety: Nebbiolo

Region: Diano d?Alba, Piedmont, Italy

92/100 ? Bob Campbell MW

?Not quite Barolo-style-tar-and-roses, although it does have the delicate perfume and fine tannic structure that I associate with Barolo. It should develop well with bottle age. Drink 2021 to 2039.? ? Bob Campbell MW

Deep, savory and wonderfully complex, Margheria Barolo offers up a compelling mix of red/purplish fruit, sage, menthol, licorice, dried flowers, graphite and melted road tar. Muscular tannins wrap it all together. The 2019 vintage is a dark and  impressive wine from one of the world's greatest wine regions, Piemonte in north west Italy. 

What the critics say...
?A shade deeper than their classic Barolo of the same vintage. Serious and notably deep, peppery nose with savoury, minerally notes but still a little closed on the fruit.With aeration it?s more aromatic and fruit-driven, with raspberry notes. Cool climate in character. Juicy and energetic on the palate with firm muscular structure that demands more time. Drink 2027-2042?