Cantina Produttori Nebbiolo di Carema

The Carema cooperative was founded in 1960 by ten growers and has since grown to roughly one hundred members (about seventy of them actively farming), all within the single commune of Carema at the foot of the Aosta valley. The total vineyard surface is small - around 13 hectares of registered DOC land since 1967 - clinging to steep south-facing terraces that climb up to about 600 metres on glacial and morainic soils. Nebbiolo here goes by the local name Picotendro and is trained on the traditional pergola system, supported by stone-and-mortar pillars called 'pilun' that absorb heat by day and release it at night to help ripening at this altitude. The range covers three cuvées from the same DOC: Etichetta Nera (the Classico, aged a minimum of two years with at least twelve months in large oak or chestnut botti), Etichetta Bianca Riserva (longer time in cask), and the newer Selezione, a small-production anniversary cuvée.