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Nebbiolo d‘Alba - Nebbiolo
Nebbiolo | wijngaard in Roero | zanderig terroir | prachtige lengte en expessie van top Nebbiolo!
Bruno Giacosa’s vinification technique has been termed “updated traditional”:
Nebbiolo grapes, for example, are picked earlier, at optimum ripeness determined by
a combination of scientific analysis and hands-on experience. The grapes are
macerated for closer to 30 days than the time-honoured 50. This timing still taps into
the power and depth of Nebbiolo but produces wines with more finesse. In
maturation, Giacosa has not been tempted towards the fashionable use of small,
225l French barriques, instead staying with huge 5,000l Slovenian and French oak
botte, many of them 25 years old
Known as the Genius of Neive, Bruno Giacosa’s mastery of the Nebbiolo grape is
recognised in Piedmont and the wider world of wine alike - although the organisation
produces more than just Barolo and Barbaresco. Bruno Giacosa sadly passed away in
January 2018. But having suffered a stroke in 2006, it is his daughter Bruna, who has
been driving this great wine estate forward in recent years, supported by her sister
Marina. And, having worked at Neive for 16 years until 2008, oenologist Dante
Scaglione returned in 2011 as a consultant.
The family name was first established in the Langhe in 1871 by Bruno Giacosa’s
grandfather Carlo Giacosa - as a commerciante di vini, building a network of
excellent local growers and vinifying their grapes at the winery in Neive, near Alba.
After World War II, the 15-year-old Bruno joined his father Mario in the family
business.
The prestigious Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Asili and Rabajà are neighbours but have
different soils and clearly definable characteristics: the former has unmatched
elegance and delicacy, while the latter is full-bodied and rich.
The 2014 Nebbiolo d'Alba Valmaggiore opens to a pretty garnet color and feminine aromas of rose petal, licorice, forest berry and Indian spice. The wine saw 14 months of oak aging which is more than the average vintage. The tannins are well developed in 2013 and they leave a crunchy, firmly-etched impression on the close. The mouthfeel here is lean and streamlined.
Bruna Giacosa tells me that the 2014 vintage posed greater challenges to the Barolo area than it did to Barbaresco. Barolo got twice the rainfall compared to Barbaresco. Specific pinpoint areas of Monforte d'Alba and La Morra lost up to 80% of their crop to the soggy conditions. The Barbaresco area lost 20% on average in return. 89/100 Larner - Parker