2022 Pio Cesare Nebbiolo Langhe

Nebbiolo Langhe is made from the same grape as the famous wines of Barolo and Barbaresco: Nebbiolo. Nebbiolo gives wines like these a distinguished and grand character, yet is slightly lighter in structure than the great wines themselves. They are the product of strict selection for the top wines, supplemented with grapes from outside the Barolo and Barbaresco regions. A perfect blend for a wine that has character, yet is also supple enough to enjoy young. The grapes are harvested a few days earlier than those for Barolo and Barbaresco. Fermentation on the skins lasts about 12 to 13 days. This results in a wine that is a lighter version of the great wines, yet still has a distinct personality, with the same character of Nebbiolo, but in a more accessible, slightly easier to approach form. A delicious wine, with great finesse.

Pio Cesare's Nebbiolo is wonderfully smoky and spicy on the nose, with hints of cherry fruit, flowers, vanilla, bay leaf, and earthiness. It has a soft, yet powerful finish, a real personality. It's nicely dry, with cherries, vanilla, and cream, good tannins and a fresh acidity afterward. It pairs perfectly with characterful main courses, meat-based dishes, salads, cold appetizers, and lightly aged cheeses.

The Pio Cesare estate is one of the region's classic producers. Located in Alba, the "wine capital" of the region, it was founded in 1881 by Cesare Pio. His name has been retained, in reverse, as the name of this trading house and family business. It remains family-owned, headed by Pio Boffa, the founder's great-grandson. He continues the family's work with excellence and has also been responsible for a number of modernizations and changes at this beautiful, traditional company. Pio Cesare has always been a trading house, sourcing grapes under contract from local winegrowers. This is also common practice in this region, which boasts many small winegrowers with small plots of vineyards, who are always willing to sell their grapes to one of the trading houses. In that respect, the region is a bit like Burgundy, with all those different vineyards, each with its own name, divided into small vineyard plots, each owned by a different winegrower.

Pio Boffa decided that owning his own vineyards was beneficial for the quality of his wines. Over the years, he has acquired several vineyards, primarily in the renowned Barolo and Barbaresco regions. His vineyard holdings now encompass 45 hectares and produce some of the estate's finest wines, with a few distinctive vineyard-specific cuvées as highlights. These are only released in good years.

The necessary changes have also been implemented in the winemaking process. A very restrained vinification process has been chosen, leaving the wine as undisturbed as possible, with minimal intervention. Each wine receives the individual treatment best suited to that particular wine, with a shorter or longer fermentation on the skins, sometimes followed by classic aging in Slavonian oak, the traditional wood of the region. This results in wines with classic finesse, balanced and complex, worthy representatives of this unique wine region.