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Cannubi Long Color

News from the Cantina

March 4, 2013

In This Issue
Upcoming Events
Recent Press
Winter 2012-2013
End of 2012 Vinification
Bottling Winter 2013
Meet the Staff
Current Releases
Sibi et Paucis
Barolo Resting in the Cantina

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Tel: +39.0173.560.023

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Upcoming
Events

 

For more information on tasting events around the world, please go to our "Events" page.  

 

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Prowein 2013  

Save the date for 

ProWein 

March 24-25-26, 2013.

The Cantina Sandrone will not be officially presenting at the event, but several of our German Importers will have stands. For more information, contact them directly.

A list of our European Importers can be found here.

More on Prowein can be found here.

 

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Opera Wine Logo

 

April 6th, Saturday 

17.00-19.30
Palazzo della Gran Guardia
Verona
 

OperaWine

 

"Finest Italian Wines:

100 Great Producers"

The first in a series of events under the OperaWine umbrella will be a Grand Tasting in Verona on April 6th presented by VinItaly  in partnership with the American lifestyle magazine Wine Spectator.

 

Opera Wine Finest 100

 

Barbara and Luciano will be pouring the 2003 Barolo Le Vigne at this exclusive event 

(reservations required).

 

More information, registration and reservations: click here.

 

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Vinitaly Logo 

Vinitaly

April 7-8-9-10, 2013

 

Though we will not be officially participating in the VinItaly fair, we encourage anyone with a passion for wine to attend, as you will learn!

More information and registration at the VinItaly website. 

 

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Festa del Barolo Antonio Galloni hosts: 

Festa del Barolo 2013

New York City

 

Hold the dates: 

 

Friday April 26

at Eleven Madison Park

 

Saturday April 27

at Del Posto

 

More information & reservations here. 

  

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  Vinexpo 2013

Vinexpo, Bordeaux France

Save the Date: 

June 16-17-18-19-20, 2013. 

Check our events page for more information on our participation.

Vinexpo 2013 information can be found here. 


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Recent Press

WS Logo

Wine Spectator 

reviews Sandrone 

Barolo, Barbera 

& Dolcetto.

 

 Barolo Le Vigne 2008:

93 points 

(Issue: Feb 28, 2013). 

A rich, muscular structure cradles the cherry and strawberry fruit in this intense red. Tar and spice flavors add complexity as this turns tannic and impenetrable on the finish, with an undercurrent of racy acidity. Best from 2017 through 2038. 150 cases imported. -BS 

 

 Barolo Cannubi Boschis 2008: 

93 points 

Wine Spectator Insider 

(Web-Only), December 5, 2012
In the menthol mode, with additional flavors of cherry, tobacco and hints of tar, this red is bright and focused. The dusty tannins on the finish are complemented by sweet fruit. Offers fine, chewy length. Best from 2017 through 2035. (Bruce Sanderson)

 

 Barbera d'Alba 2010:

 92 points 

Web-Only: December 2012.
A lush, modern style, delivering plenty of power on a supple texture. Possesses definition and balance, intensity and length--just about all you could ask for in a Barbera. Drink now through 2015. 500 cases imported. (Bruce Sanderson) 

 

 Dolcetto d'Alba 2011:  

91 points

Web-Only, December 2012.
This shows aromatic dark berry and violet aromas and flavors, with touches of black pepper. Needs a little air to reveal the silky texture and elegant profile. Drink now through 2014. 700 cases imported. (Bruce Sanderson)

 

Many thanks to Bruce Sanderson at the Wine Spectator for his longtime support and criticism.

 

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James Suckling logo

JamesSuckling.com

reviews both our Barolo

 

James Suckling, an experienced and longtime critic of the wines of Italy, has included the 2008 Barolo Le Vigne in his "Top 100 Wines" of 2012. Many thanks, James!!! 

 

Here are his notes:

 

Barolo Le Vigne 2008

95 points 

JamesSuckling.com, July 19, 2012

"Love the nose of this with freshly cut flowers and berries with just a hint of chillies, cocoa. Full-bodied, with super well-integrated tannins and a subtle fruity palate. The texture is beautiful. Better in 2015."

 

Barolo Cannubi Boschis 2008

94 points

JamesSuckling.com, July 19, 2012
"This nose is divine. Aromas of perfumes, roses and ripe fruit. Full body, with fine tannins and a dark chocolate finish. Tight and very, very pretty. Needs to loosen up a bit with about three to four years of bottle age. Better in 2014."

 

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L'Espresso 

reviews 

Sandrone Wines  

 

Barolo Le Vigne 2008  

17.5/20 points, 2013 Guide
"Profilo sottile ed elegante, tanto ai profumi, con delicate note florealiche intersecanosentori pi� profondamente pepati, quanto al gusto, compiuto nel carattere, dai tannini rarefatti, con finale ineccepibile."

 

Barolo Cannubi Boschis 2008

18/20 points, 2013 Guide

"Alle note dolci, mature ed espanse dell'olfatto ai alterna un sapore pi� incisivo, profondo energico; tatto felpato, tannini sottili e infiltranti, notevole allungo finale." 

 

 Valmaggiore Nebbiolo d'Alba 2010 

14.5/20 points, 2013 guide 

 

 Barbera d'Alba 2010  

14.5/20 points, 2013 guide

 

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Enogea Logo

89 punti
No. 43
"Altro vino che motra sua vera dimensione solo dopo alcune ore. Una dimensione che non � volume (quello c'� gi� dall'inizio, ed � ci� che lo frena), bensi una successione di strati tannici flessibili, affusolati e ben legati uno all'altro. Un vino dunque molto composto che al momento manca soltanto dell'affondo decisivo."
 

Barolo Le Vigne 2008

89+ punti

No. 43

"Un vino che sta facendo le prove di eccellenza, e per farlo gira nel bicchiere un po' come quei prototipici di automobili, ben camuffati, che ogni tanto si incontrano per la strada. Con le giuste soffiate, e sopratutto con una gran pazienza, non � per� difficile intuire i dettagli di un vino destinato a competere: ottime in particolare la lunghezza e le perstistenza, con un tannico impeccabile per estrazione e che sembra volersi ramificare all'infinito. Tutto il reste invece deve ancora venire, e se mai arriver� saranno fuochi d'artificio."

 

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GR Tre Bich2 
has been awarded the prestigious "Tre Bicchieri" from the Italian Wine Magazine Gambero Rosso.
 
We are also very, very happy to have received "Due Bicchieri" for three of our other four wines:
 
 
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Bibenda 2013

Bibenda 2013, the guide of AIS, the Italian Sommelier Association, has awarded the

AIS 5 Grappoli

2008 Cannubi Boschis Barolo

its highest honor of "5 Grappoli"



We are pleased to have received
"4 Grappoli"
for:

 
 
 
 
And "3 Grappoli" for the:

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Veronelli 2013
The Veronelli 2013 guide has awarded the prestigious


"3 Stelle"

to our:
Cannubi Boschis Barolo 2008
 
The Cannubi Boschis and the Le Vigne each received 94 points from lead taster Daniel Thomases.
Valmaggiore received 90 points.

And "2 stelle" for the:


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SlowWine 2013
Slow Wine 2013
recommends our

Cannubi Boschis Barolo 2008
Barbera d'Alba 2010  
(Slow Wine does not award scores)
 
 

VBI 4 star crown
The "Crown with 4 Stars" 
was awarded to:


 
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Antonio Galloni reviews 
2010 Valmaggiore, 2010 Barbera and 2011 Dolcetto for the Wine Advocate.

 

Antonio Galloni in the
on our three "entry-level" wines:

 2011 Dolcetto d'Alba
89 points
 
"
In a vintage in which so many wines are big and powerful, the 2011 Dolcetto d'Alba stands out for its silky personality and utter refinement. Floral notes meld into expressive dark blue and black varietal fruit in a gracious, mid-weight Dolcetto of incomparable elegance and finesse. Firm Dolcetto tannins appear on the finish to support the fruit and add balance. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2015."

2010 Barbera d'Alba
89 Points 
"
Sandrone's 2010 Barbera d'Alba is remarkably juicy and exuberant. There is plenty of rich, fleshy fruit in the glass, but at the same time, I expected to find more minerality and energy in this vintage. On the plus side, the French oak, which can sometimes be dominant, is better integrated than it has been at times. Overall, the 2010 is an excellent choice for drinking over the near and medium term. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2016." 

2010 Valmaggiore
Nebbiolo d'Alba

92 points

"
The 2010 Nebbiolo d'Alba Valmaggiore is surprisingly shut down today. The Valmaggiore is often open and accessible when young, but that is far from the case with the 2010. Firm yet well-integrated tannins frame red cherries, sweet herbs, menthol and spices in this surprisingly large-scaled, broad Valmaggiore. Layers of fruit continue to build to the vibrant, layered finish. Readers will have to be patient here. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2022."

WA Logo

Previously Reviewed:

2008 Barolo
Cannubi Boschis:
95 Points
97 Points
 
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Thank you, Antonio! 
Greetings!

The beginning of March brings with it the first hints of spring; a warm day here and there, the ground emerging from under a layer of snow on the south-facing hillsides, early-budding trees showing the first shimmer of green. But there are still drifts of snow melting on the hillsides and in the town piazzas, puddles on the ground regularly freeze overnight. Snow flurries, fog and drizzly, cold rain come with depressing monotony.

San Pietro Cru Winter
The San Pietro cru (foreground) with Mon Viso rising 
above it in the distance, February 2013
Cortile Winter 2013
The cortile of the Cantina after a dusting of snow, January 2013

 

It is mud season.


The vineyards themselves are unworkable today - the recent wet weather means that we simply slip and slide around when working in the vines. The clay soils of the region stick to everything - cleaning the tractors takes just as long as the time we use them in the vineyard. So it's a good time to work on projects here at the cantina, and this is also the time of year when much of the bottling gets done.

 

We are looking forward to better weather and the warm, limpid days of spring, when we can get out and do a full day's work in the vines without coming back covered in layers of mud. By early April, we expect the vines to be budding; from this point the season is "on!" We are excited to get started!

 

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As always, we thank you for your continued interest in our wines, and we hope to continue to fulfill your expectations of quality and excellence in the bottle.

 

With warmest regards, 

 

Luciano Sandrone

Barbara Sandrone

Luca Sandrone

 

 

PS. For those of you that are receiving this the first time, we hope you enjoy our newsletter. We send it out seasonally, four times per year, full of information about the wines, the cantina and vineyards. If you no longer wish to receive future mailings, you may quickly and safely unsubscribe anytime by clicking the "SafeUnsubscribe" button at the end of this newsletter. Rest assured we will never share your personal information with anyone.

 

 

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Winter SAN w Cannubi
The Cantina after a mid-February snowstorm. Note how the Cannubi Boschis hill, just behind the winery, is already clear of snow; this is due to its excellent southeast exposition.
2012-2013 Winter

 

Brrrrrr. 

 

It's cold now and there is new snow on the ground, with more on the way.

 

But let's go back to early December; it was unseasonably temperate. We didn't have more than a brief hard freeze until late December! We were able to begin our pruning and training of the vines immediately after the leaves fell off in late November; the moderate conditions persisted into the first half of January and even as late as the 9th of January it was possible to work in the sunnier vineyards with just a light sweater during the day. We were able to get ahead of schedule on pruning many vineyards. (A detailed article on our pruning methods can be found in our March 2012 Newsletter.) When snow came the middle of January, we were well ahead of plan.

Bussia Winter
Looking from Bussia Soprana toward Bussia Sottana and the Cantina. Vergne (hamlet) on the hilltop in the distance.

 

Snow is the most valuable form of precipitation we get here in the Barolo for the vines. Our clay soils tend towards very slow water absorption, so much of the rainwater precipitation that falls here runs off into the streams and torrents on the valley floors. Snow is another matter - the slow, slow melt is like a drip system for the soil, where moisture can penetrate deeply and groundwater reserves can be replenished. After the recent string of warm vintages in 2011 and 2012 (not forgetting 2007 and 2009, and that 2010 was relatively dry as well), this replenishment from snowmelt is critical for the continued health and productivity of the vines. 

Portone Winter
Frost on the holly plant by the cantina doors.

 

Cold weather is also a critical step in the life cycle of the plants because a good, hard freeze kills many pest insect eggs, bacterias, molds and fungus. Warm winters, while pleasant for us humans, stress the vines and can lead to difficult growing seasons. As much as we might complain about the cold, it is a welcome visitor (as long as it doesn't overstay its welcome!).

 

As we wait for the first good dry days when we can get the tractors out and begin the work in the vineyards, we spend the days planning for fertilizations, final pruning and then the first training of the new shoots. Fertilizations are done with composted cow manure only, applied every 4-5 years or where needed as vineyards stress. (For a photo gallery with detailed descriptions about fertilizing our Valmaggiore vineyard - all done by hand - click here.) We are all looking forward to the first days of springtime and getting back to work!

 

 

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End of Vinification 2012-13 
 

At the time we sent our last newsletter, we had just racked the last tank of Nebbiolo off the skins into a 30hl steel tank where is would spend a few weeks settling and clarifying. This first settling period after this first racking allows any suspended fruit pulp, yeast cells and sediment to fall out, and generally lasts 2 weeks. 

 

Cleaning Barrels 2012
Andrea and Ivan cleaning tonneaux in anticipation of fill, December 2012

Several readers asked about the extended maceration wine, which is a staple of traditionally made Barolo (a good example of extremely long-maceration wines are the Barolo of Commandante Burlotto in Verduno, who macerate their Nebbiolo for 60 days). Luciano has never been an arch-modernist nor an extreme traditionalist, preferring to take elements and practices from both to craft a unique and personal statement about Barolo. Historically, Luciano had macerated his Barolo from relatively short periods of 6 or 7 days in the 80s to his more common 12-15 day macerations today. As he has learned to shape the tannins of his wines in more and more nuanced ways, the need for a short maceration, in which less of the plant tannin is imparted into the wine, becomes less necessary. Short macerations require lots of must movement (pump-overs, punch-downs or the use of rotofermentors; though Luciano has never used a roto for his own wines), which exposes the fermenting wine to a lot of oxygen, which hastens evolution in the cask. You see how the choices a winemaker makes are not as simple as many wine writers make them out to be? 

 

For the last 4 years, Luciano has kept between one and three fermentation tanks of Le Vigne fruit under a long maceration of 25-35 days. As this wine gets blended back into the larger assemblaggio cuv�e, its effects are to make the resulting wine more complex, impart more plant tannin (thus requiring less new oak casks and their attendant wood tannins in the wine) and make the wine a truer representation of the larger Barolo zone. With the release of the 2009 Baroli this September, you will be able to taste the effects of this old practice in Luciano's wines. This was the first Le Vigne to incorporate his ongoing experiments in longer macerations.

 

But back to the end of the winemaking ... After two weeks, we rack again to get the wine off the rough sediment. Even after this brief period, a few centimeters of sediment will have already collected on the floor of the tank. During this second racking the wine is transferred into a clean tank and left again to settle for 2 weeks. With the alcoholic fermentation done, it is important to limit oxygen interaction, so we do very gentle rackings where the wine has minimal air contact. 

Racking lees 2012
Andrea and Cristian racking the new wine off the lees - a messy but important job!

 

Once the second settling period is finished, we rack the wine off the fine sediment that has collected and transfer it to tonneaux. As most of you know, Luciano is a strong believer in the 500-liter size of cask instead of barriques of 225 liters. The use of larger tonneaux give a smoother, less aggressive oak treatment and has become a hallmark of the Sandrone style.

 

Malolactic fermentation happens in late December through the end of January in the first ageing cellar, where we raise the temperature to 18-19C for about 6 weeks. A bit of warmth is enough to get the malolactic bacteria to do their work, and once lab tests show that all the malic acid has been transformed into lactic acid, we top off the tonneaux and turn off the warmth. Luciano and Luca let the temperature drop back down to 12C (the natural cellar temp) by opening the cellar doors or a night or two, gently letting the temperature drop to the level where the wine will stay for the rest of its time in wood tonneaux.

 

 

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Bottling 4

Bottling, Early 2013
Bottling CB
Eda stacking bottles of
2010 Le Vigne Barolo.
 
January and February are a good time to bottle. Cold and mud keep us from vineyard work, so we occupy much of our time with repairs, maintenance, preparing shipments and of course, bottling. Every winter we bottle all our wines with the exception of the Dolcetto (this is bottled in July, just before release in September). 

That's a lot of bottles, and keeping everything organized is a big job. But first, the bottling process ...

Once Luciano has decided that the wines have finished their time in wood tonneaux of 500L (24-28 months in 20-25% new for Barolo, 12 months in 30-50% new for Barbera, and 12 months in used barrels only for the Valmaggiore), each barrel is checked and tasted, then each lot is assembled, then the final assemblaggio is made. Casks that do not meet Luciano's and Luca's stringent quality level are sold in bulk. The wine is allowed to harmonize and mix thoroughly in a single tank for several days prior to bottling. We bottle in one shot from a single tank so that the first bottle is exactly the same as the last bottle.

On bottling day, the equipment is set up, pumps checked, nitrogen tanks hooked to the bottling line and cleanliness is re-checked (the line itself is washed the day before bottling, but it never hurts to check again!). Valves are opened, pumps started, machines engaged, and we are on our way!

LV 3L 2010
The entire production of 3L format 
for the 2010 Barolo Le Vigne

The first machine on the line washes the interior of the bottles. Though we only purchase new bottles that arrived sterilized and shrink-wrapped (there is a thriving local trade in used bottles that we avoid completely), washing the bottle is a small investment with significant returns: we think about half of the "off" bottles in the general wine marketplace are not damaged by cork taint but by dirty bottles. The machine uses high-pressure hot water and then a blast of compressed air to dry the interior.

The next step is also a "small" machine with a big return: this apparatus fills the bottle with nitrogen. Luciano and Luca want to insure that as the wine fills the empty bottles, it has minimal oxygen contact, and so filling the bottle with an inert heavier-than-air gas means the wine will not touch oxygen as the bottle fills - instead it displaces the nitrogen.

Next up is the actual bottling machine, where exactly 750mls of wine are put into each bottle. Then a machine double-checks the level just before moving the bottle over to the corking machine. 

Now a bit of magic ... the machine that inserts the corks descends on the top of the bottle and forms a seal around the neck, and pulls all remaining air and nitrogen out of this small space, effectively creating a vacuum between the machine and the top of the wine in the bottle. Thus the cork inserts into the neck under vacuum. Why? Because otherwise there would be a pressure buildup of the gases as the cork slides into the neck, which we want to avoid! Under vacuum, the pressure in the bottle once the cork has been inserted is effectively the same inside as out: one atmosphere. In the old days, before these machines came into use, there were many problems with the high pressure inside the bottle pushing the corks out a little in the time it took for the pressure to equalize across the cork barrier. Now we have a prefect pressure match and can put the bottles straight into the steel basket cages and down into the cellar!

Bottling 3
From left: Simona stacking bottles on the conveyor; the bottle washing machine; the Nitrogen machine; the bottling machine; the corking machine; finally, Eda stacking the bottles
in the steel "gabbioni," stackable wire cages. 
 
In our bottle ageing "maggazino" (warehouse room) the unlabeled bottles are held at 12C until release.  We never label at bottling for several reasons. First, the wine is held for varying amounts of time before release - the Barbera and Valmaggiore will go on the market the following September, and the 2 Baroli will follow into the market a year afterwards. Second,  every country has different and unique back label requirements and so we do not even print these labels until we know quantities and  are ready to ship. Lastly, Luciano wants perfectly clean and pristine bottles to go into the cases, another reason for labeling just before putting the bottles in boxes. Effectively, he wants it to be a perfect presentation - just like Christmas when you open a box of Sandrone wines. 
 
We'll talk more about labeling in a future newsletter.


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Meet the Staff!
 
A new feature - every newsletter we will introduce a few of the people who spend their working hours here at Sandrone. We hope you enjoy getting to know the people of the extended Sandrone family in a better and more personal way.
Anna G in Cantina
Anna Genta

Anna Genta is the newest member of the Sandrone staff. She was hired in December 2012 when longtime office employee Sara Carbone left to pursue opening a new restaurant in Cherasco. Anna brings us multilingual experience with wine - she speaks Italian, and is conversant in German, French and English ... and of course knows Piedmontese, having grown up in the Alba area (where she still lives). She studied political science at University and holds a sommelier degree from the Italian Sommelier Association (AIS) that she earned at the AIS school in nearby Bra. Before coming to us, she worked various wine positions, and knows the Langhe intimately from organizing winery tours for a branch of the Langhe Tourist Bureau for several years. Her smiling face and sunny demeanor are always appreciated!
Andrea press
Andrea Alessandria

Andrea Alessandria is Luciano's winemaking assistant and crew chief. Andrea has been working at Luciano's side since 1999 after graduating from Agrarian School in Grinzane Cavour. He also gained valuable, ongoing winemaking experience by making wine from his family's Barbera and Dolcetto holdings around the town of Novello. Andrea has serious and excellent work habits but also is a natural-born prankster, and loves a well-turned story or a bawdy joke to lighten a long day of physical work. During harvest and vinification Andrea is at Luciano's side in the winery almost constantly, helping with all aspects of crush, fermentation and racking. During the rest of the year, he divides his time between the vineyards and the cellar. Andrea and his wife Olia live in Novello.


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Current Releases in the MarketBottles dark background

 

Our 2012 wine releases are now in the market:

  

Dolcetto d'Alba 2011

Barbera d'Alba 2010

Barolo Cannubi Boschis 2008

Barolo "Le Vigne" 2008

 

Also these three Sibi e Paucis wines have just been released:

 

Nebbiolo d'Alba "Valmaggiore" Sibi e Paucis 2006

Barolo Cannubi Boschis Sibi e Paucis 2004

Barolo Le Vigne Sibi e Paucis 2004

 

More info on the Sibi e Paucis releases can be found here.

 

Technical data and tasting notes for all wines including historical vintages can be found by following the above links to our website. We will add professional reviews as they become available.

 

Links to your country's importer can be found here.

 

Of course, our most important and eagerly anticipated release are the two Barolo, and we think 2008 will be a wine for the ages. While the wine press has made much of the cool growing season, we remember the literally perfect harvest - 7 weeks of warm days, cool nights, no rain and intense sun that resulted in one of the best crops of grapes we had seen (remember, Nebbiolo shakes off wet growing conditions easily if it is followed by a warm, dry harvest period). The 2008 Barolos will be long-lived, more classically styled wines, with their firm, nervous acidity reflecting the long, cool-ish growing season and the ripe fruit showing the effects of this last 7 weeks of perfect sun and warmth, all framed by the velvety tannins that make Barolo so distinctive. Consumers who prefer "classic-style" vintages should love the 2008 wines.

 

Valmaggiore is always somewhat warmer than in the Barolo, as is normal, but still shows the bracing structure of the cooler 2010 growing season. The fruit had ripened perfectly by the first week of October and we picked under ideal conditions. The first parcels were the warmest parts: the center and west-facing parts of the bowl, then the east side of the bowl, followed by the edges. The last fruit came in on the 20th of October.

 

Our 2010 Barbera is a rich, structured wine, full of deep fruit, with smooth, bracing tannins from the new wood and the characteristic bright acidity of this vine. Though Barbera loves heat and sun, and typically does best in hot vintages such as 2003, 2009 and 2011, we were able to achieve great fruit ripeness by being a bit more aggressive in our green harvest this year. The remaining fruit ripened and concentrated beautifully, resulting in a wine that has 4-6 years further ageing potential. The wine spent 12 months in 50% new oak that helped soften the characteristic fresh acid. Fans of structured Barbera (as opposed to the "fruit-bomb" style, which has never been our thing) will love this wine and it will go especially well with rich winter dishes such as roasts, polenta and risotto.

 

The 2011 Dolcetto d'Alba is simply delightful, if that's not too presumptuous to say. The warm growing season reflects perfectly in a generous, open wine of embracing personality, all fruit and perfume up front, but with good, fresh acidity and a vibrant, racy finish. 

 

New Release Spotlight: 2008 Le Vigne  

BLV 08  

The 2008 harvest yielded wines of nervous acidity and ripe fruit. It is generally considered an excellent though variable vintage in the classic style. A cool summer led to veraison problems with uneven bunches as late as mid-August, and the fruit was generally well behind schedule as September started. The sun came out the end of the first week of September and we enjoyed 7 weeks of clear, bright sun, with warm days and very cool nights. Growers who had not done excessive or aggressive green-harvesting to concentrate the plant's energy were able to enjoy harvest well into late October. At Sandrone, we brought in the last Nebbiolo and Barbera on the 24 and 25 October, very late in comparison to the last 15 years. The four component vineyards of Barolo Le Vinge showed incredible promise as the autumn developed and were the last plots of Nebbiolo that we picked that year. 

 

Cantina Tasting Note:

Red/black color with no light edges. On the nose, layers of red and black fruits emerge with patience, especially plums and black cherries. The wine is deep and concentrated, with intense and focused oak, chocolate and cranberry, and notes of violets, coffee and licorice. In the mouth it is complex and layered, with still-closed tannins that are very ripe and full. The mid palate is purely defined and delineated, and the finish precise and long. This is a Le Vigne to age.

 

 

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Sibi et Paucis Gold SeP

 

Along with the current releases, we have just released the new group of "Sibi et Paucis" wines in September 2012:

 

2006 Valmaggiore,

2004 Barolo Le Vigne  

2004 Barolo Cannubi Boschis.

 

The Sibi et Paucis program is our library re-release program (not a riserva wine) and more information can be found here on our website.

 

The newly-released bottles; both the regular and Sibi et Paucis bottlings for the 3 Nebbioli: 2006 and 2010 Valmaggiore; 2004 and 2008 Le Vigne; 2004 and 2008 Cannubi Boschis.

Each newsletter has a spotlight on one of the different Sibi et Paucis releases.

 

Only 1500 bottles of each of the three Nebbiolo-based wines are kept back for the Sibi et Paucis program, and most are allocated to restaurant wine lists. If you see the metallic stamp on a bottle, you know that the wine spent 4 years in Luciano's personal library cellar.

 

Sibi et Paucis Spotlight on 

2006 Valmaggiore Nebbiolo d'Alba 

Vm S&P  

The 2006 vintage was a classic one with a long, temperate growing season, resulting in wines of defined tannins and excellent structure. Valmaggiore is always a few degrees warmer than the Barolo, and the wine shows the gorgeous aromatics that are characteristic of the terroir and warmth. The nose shows good red and black berries, cherries, rose petal and cola nut. In the mouth, the excellent acidity plays off the defined fruit. The ripe tannins are more prominent than in most Valmaggiore bottlings and are long and dry. The wine finishes with a note of red fruits and black tea leaves. Drink 2012-2018.

 

 

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Barolo resting in the Cantina 
Barrel long shot
Tonneax in the Ageing Cellar.
Our Barolo spends at least 24 months in wooden casks and cannot be released until the beginning of the 4th calendar year after the vintage. So there is a good bit of wine down in our cellar! We do not use barriques here at Sandrone, instead Luciano prefers to use tonneaux (500 liter casks of French oak). Also, the Barbera and Valmaggiore spend 12-14 months in wood. We use about 20-25% new wood on the Barolo, 30 to 50% new wood on the Barbera and only used casks for the Valmaggiore.

As we described above, the 2012s have been moved into tonneaux and had finished malolactic fermentation by the end of January. The 2010 were just bottled and the 2011 Barolo are still resting comfortably in their tonneaux. The 2009 Barolo were bottled in December 2011 and January 2012 and have been moved to the storage cellar where the bottles will wait until September of 2013 when they are released. While it is impossible to talk about what the wines still in wood will specifically taste like when they are released in the future, we would like to tell you a bit about how the Barolo are developing.

Tonneaux
2009: The growing season was considerably warmer than in 2008, and the wines show a depth of perfume and fruit that is simply lovely. The Barolo are still resting after being bottled in January 2011 after 24 months in tonneaux. These two Baroli will be released this September and we will post to our website our cantina tasting notes and technical information for the wines by mid-April. These wines, at this stage in their life, remind us of the 1998s, an undervalued vintage of incredible finesse and depth. (For more general information on the Barolo 1998 vintage, John Gilman wrote a great article on it in the March/April 2009 issue (#20) of his e-magazine "View from the Cellar" (subscription required)). These wines should be at their best between 10 and 15 years of age. They also remind us of the 2007s, but perhaps with a touch less acidity.

2010: A cool late August and early September gave us a long growing season and the resulting wines should be ones of depth and structure. This vintage bears some similarity to 2006, where power, ripe fruit and potential longevity are combined to an incredible degree, but perhaps a bit more austere. These are wines to cellar! The wines were in cask for 24 months and were assembled and bottled in January and February of this year. The just-released 2010 Valmaggiore is a delight - tastings of this wine show the delicate and focused aromas so typical of Roero Nebbiolo.

2011: The wines have been in cask for almost 15 months and are coming along nicely. Malolactic fermentation finished by late January 2012. The Dolcetto, which is aged only in steel and has been bottled and released, shows delightful fruit and perfume, reflecting the more forward personality of the vintage. Valmaggiore and Barbera also show good fruit and a more forward structure; these wines were bottled in late December 2012 and January 2013. The warm Cannubi site gave us grapes that embody the best attributes of the season: amazing perfume of strawberries, cherries and fresh roses with beautiful ripe fruit in the mouth. A big surprise is Le Vigne, which has changed somewhat due to a switch of the component vineyards: we gave up our long-term leases on Conterni and Cerretta in the commune of Monforte, and added the Villero vineyard from Castiglione, which adds mid-palate richness and structure, and the Upper Baudana planting from Serralunga, which adds great tannic structure to the wine. We have very high expectations for this wine, and the addition of the Serralunga fruit should make it even more age-worthy. The wine shows deep, penetrating aromas of black fruits and licorice and has incredible presence in the mouth. This wine truly embodies the old Barolo adage of the "iron fist in the velvet glove."

We will keep you updated on the development of these wines as well as the new 2012 wine which are in tonneaux since mid-December.



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Newsletter and Press Releases: Copyright 2013 Sandrone Luciano Azienda Agricola, Via Pugnane 4, 12060 Barolo (CN) Italy

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