A warming climate is favouring the Nebbiolo grape in its Piedmont home, and these entry-level DOC wines are offering increasingly good value
Nebbiolo is the classic ‘less-is-more’ style of wine. It’s perhaps no coincidence that today – when this is a style that’s very much in vogue – demand for young Nebbiolo has increased significantly, according to Piedmont’s Consorzio di Tutela Barolo, Barbaresco, Alba, Langhe & Dogliani.
Focusing on Piedmont’s main DOC Nebbiolo categories, consorzio figures reported in January 2024 show that annual production of Nebbiolo d’Alba has increased by more than a million bottles since 2016 (to 5.64m bottles in 2022). Over the same period, production of Langhe DOC wines (within which, it must be noted, there is primarily – but not only – Nebbiolo) grew from 15.4m to 19.5m bottles a year. By comparison, Barbera and Dolcetto volumes have declined, while DOCG Barolo (14.5m) and Barbaresco (5m) have increased more modestly, by about 500,000 and 200,000 bottles a year respectively.
The legislative classification is intricate: typically Italian! The two denominations of Nebbiolo d’Alba DOC and Langhe DOC Nebbiolo have differences in origin, ampelographic characteristics and ageing requirements. Nebbiolo d’Alba comes from a specific delimited area lying outside both the Barolo and Barbaresco DOCG regions; it must consist of 100% Nebbiolo and age for at least 12 months. By contrast, the area from which Langhe Nebbiolo can be sourced encompasses the wider Langhe and Roero region – an enormous extension of 96 communes, ranging from Cortemilia (famed more for its hazelnuts than its wine) up to Vigna Rionda, which is one of the best cru sites of Serralunga. Langhe DOC Nebbiolo must be at least 85% Nebbiolo and has no minimum ageing limits.
On paper, therefore, Nebbiolo d’Alba DOC ought to be superior and priced higher; however, in truth it’s often the opposite, since Langhe DOC Nebbiolo can be a by-product of Barolo and Barbaresco – or come from the same vineyards, perhaps from the younger vines. In this regard, it can behave like a typical ‘second wine’. To further complicate the scenario, there are endless production interpretations: vinified in stainless steel tank and quickly released, or aged in large, neutral botti, French oak barrique, concrete, or even in amphora.
UNDER THE RADAR
One of the most esteemed MGAs (menzione geografica aggiuntiva: equivalent to a ‘climat’ in France) from which Langhe Nebbiolos can be sourced is Valmaggiore, in the Roero (DOCG) commune of Vezza d’Alba, from which Luciano Sandrone, Bruno Giacosa and Mario Marengo produce examples that have become cult favourites. One of the most expensive wines comes from the young vines of Vigna Rionda in Serr
