AZIENDA AGRICOLA CASCINA PUGNANE Bussia , Barolo DOCG

Ca' Rome' Romano Marengo Maria di Brun Barbaresco DOCG Garnet red in the glass, the nose is complex and ample showing aromas of violet and underbrush. Full, velvety and very balanced. Because of its structure and body, it pairs well with meat, game and cheese. The Rio Sordo vineyard is located in the Barbaresco municipality. The soils are known as white marl of Saint Agatha and go back to the Tortonian-Messinian period. Maceration lasts 20 days using a traditional method of maceration called steccatura at a temperature that never exceeds 30°C. This method involves wedging stocks into the vat to hold the cap (grape skins and pulp) down below the surface of the juice. This slow, gentle extractraction coaxes the signature tannins from the Nebbiolo grape skins. Aged for 30 months in 25 hectolitre Slavonian oak barrels with a portion of it part aged in barrique. The wine is further aged in-bottle for at least 12 months.

ARPEPE Sassella Stella Retica , Valtellina, Valtellina

Boroli Barolo Classico is the estate’s benchmark Barolo, a traditional blend of their best Nebbiolo vineyards in Castiglione Falletto, capturing the commune’s mix of structure and fragrance in one bottle. East-, west- and south-west-facing clay-limestone parcels with touches of sand are harvested by hand in mid-October, then divided into micro-parcels so each plot is fermented and aged separately before blending. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel with 10–12 days on skins and a further 20–25 days of submerged-cap maceration, followed by at least 18 months in large Slavonian oak and a year in bottle before release, giving a supple but ageworthy frame. In the glass, recent vintages show bright red colour, scents of fresh wild berries, rose, sweet liquorice and gentle spice, with velvety tannins, good line and a harmonious, savoury finish – a classic, “all-round” Barolo that drinks well in its first decade yet has the stuffing to go further in a good cellar.

The Estate produces just 900 cases of this succulent, dark cherry and anise-scented Barbaresco. Like all of the Rocca family's Barbaresco, this is a single cru wine. It hails from a south facing, single site in a cru called Montersino (in the Treiso commune). One day it may well be labelled according to its cru. The altitude here is 310 metres and the soil is a mixture of clay and limestone. It's 100 per cent Nebbiolo of course, from another super vintage, and matured exclusively in large, 20 hectolitre, Austrian coopered Botti for two years. Succulent, pure and meticulously crafted, there is a wonderful core of dark cherry, lavender and tobacco scented fruit and fine structure to balance the fleshy texture. Nebbiolo in all its atmospheric glory.

Luciano Sandrone crafts wines of profound integrity, purity and deep expression. The Valmaggiore vineyard in the Roero hills, on the left bank of the Tanaro river, is one of the best historic sources of origin and quality. Already in the nineteenth century, the Nebbiolo grapes grown in this vineyard were so highly regarded that they dictated the price for the entire territory.