It’s easy to think that Piemonte’s great Nebbiolo wines come exclusively from Barolo and Barbaresco. This post features two wines, both 100 per cent Nebbiolo, that come from nearby, one quite well known, one a real hidden gem: two fine Nebbiolos outside Barolo.
As part of research for my book, The Wines of Piemonte, I have been tasting and talking to producers in less well-known areas. I am intrigued by the brand new DOCG of Terre Alfieri. It was formerly a DOC and has now been promoted to DOCG, the highest classification in the Italian quality system. The shorthand description of ‘the land of the Alfieri’ is that this is the area immediately to the east of Roero, mostly in the province of Asti. Like Roero, it also specialises in Arneis for white wine and Nebbiolo for red. It also shares sandy soils but with some clay, silt, sandstone and chalk.
Nebbiolo outside Barolo: Roero and Terre Alfieri
This week I spoke to Mario Olivero, winemaker and director of Marchesi Alfieri in San Martino Alfieri, 20 kilometres northeast of Alba. We discussed his Costa Quaglia, Terre Alfieri DOC, 2016 at some length. In this course of this, he said that his aspiration has always been to make a wine like Luciano Sandrone’s Valmaggiore. I thought that is a great goal and one with some proper realism. The grapes for Sandrone’s wine comes from one of the top Roero vineyards, Valmaggiore, a steep, south-facing amphitheatre. It is labelled as Nebbiolo d’Alba but could easily be, I think should be, labelled, Roero DOCG. (That is simply a marketing decision and one that perhaps reflects the conditions in the market back in 1994 when the wine was first made. Incidentally, Bruno Giacosa also has vines in Valmaggiore and makes the same labelling decision, as I have noted here.) Trying to emulate Sandrone’s Barolo wines outside the highly specific terroir of Barolo would be unrealistic; attempting the same against a Roero wine is a realistic if demanding goal for a Nebbiolo outside Barolo.
As it happens, I have a bottle of Sandrone, Valmaggiore 2016 in my collection. The sample Marchesi Alfieri bottle I was sent was from the same, great, vintage. That was a stroke of good fortune and hence I can compare the two wines directly. To set the bar high, let’s do master first and then apprentice.
Valmaggiore, Nebbiolo d’Alba DOC, Sandrone, 2016, 13.5%
The vines are at 270-330 m in the south-facing amphitheatre, on a steep slope with soft and sandy soils.
In terms of winemaking, Sandrone uses ambient yeast, with the wine in contact with the skins for 7–10 days. The wine is aged for one year in French oak tonneaux (500 litres), none of the wood being first year.
Tasting note
The Sandrone (on the left in the picture below ) is a touch paler, a classic pale ruby with a developing garnet tint. The wine has a super attractive red fruit, graphite and savoury nose, very elegant and with all elements beautifully knit together. In addition, tobacco notes are more evident on the palate. This is a wine of high intensity but which is rounded and approachable. The suave texture on the mid-palate is followed by quite firm, chalky tannins on a long finish. This has the fruit and structure to age for 10+ years. 17/20
Costa Quaglia, Terre Alfieri DOC, Marchesi Alfieri2016, 14.5%
The Nebbiolo for this wine comes from the Quaglia vineyard, named after a local hamlet (perhaps famous for its quails?) The soil is clay and silt with some chalk.
In terms of winemaking, the wine is macerated on the skins for 15 days with daily rack and return for a week and then the cap is submerged every day to ensure full extraction of colour and flavour. Malolactic conversion takes place in wood and the wine is aged in French oak tonneaux of second and third use for 12–15 months.
(Note: back in 2016, the wine was a DOC, today it would be DOCG.)
Tasting note
A deeper shade of ruby also with a garnet tint. The wine has medium intensity, very clean, red plum and blackberry fruit with balsamic and violet notes too. The oak is really well integrated with the fruit. There is a hint of warmth on the palate and firm, ripe, Nebbiolo tannins that linger at this stage of the wine’s development on the long finish. This wine would really benefit from another five or so years in bottle and has the same 10+ years in it. 16.5/20
Comment on winemaking
It is obvious how similar the key winemaking decisions are. Both employ used tonneaux for the ageing of the wine (so the ratio of wine to the oak surface is the same) and for similar times. Extraction methods may differ slightly and maceration times are not that far apart. A clear significant difference is the alcohol level and, therefore, perhaps the picking date. The Sandrone is declared as one per cent lower than the Marchesi Alfieri. Without having access to the precise alcohol levels, it is impossible to know whether that is accurate or not as EU law allows a tolerance of 0.5% abv.
Comment on style and quality
By the standards of imposing Nebbiolo wines, these relatively young wines are stylistically very similar. They both have approachable, attractive fruit now and the structure to age in a positive way. The Sandrone is more aromatically intense and has a very fine texture. The Marchesi Alfieri needs more time to reach its potential. In Italy, the Marchesi Alfieri is great value for an ageable Nebbiolo outside Barolo at around €18, while Sandrone comes in at €25–€28. While Sandrone is an acknowledged master of growing and vinifying Nebbiolo, the apprentice can more than stand on his own feet, introduce a new denomination to wine lovers and at a great price.
