2019 Vietti Barolo Monvigliero (Pre-arrival)

This is the wine Luca Currado and Elena Penna are most excited to present. And because this charming couple would leave the helm of the winery shortly after my visit with them, I like to consider the 2019 Barolo Monvigliero a symbolic send-off. Making Nebbiolo from Monvigliero is often a question of technique more than anything else, they tell me, and the learning curve is arduous. This wine sees 60% whole cluster fermentation in a single vat. Having some destemmed grapes makes fermentation easier to control. Family friend Fabio Alessandria of Comm. G.B. Burlotto offered tips on how to avoid volatile acidity or other problems with long maceration times. In fact, Vietti was able to acquire directly from Fabio Alessandria their 8,000-square-meter parcel in Monvigliero located at 300 meters in elevation on a high plain. “He passed the ball to us,” says Luca Currado.