Langhe Nebbiolo

Davide Rosso is known for his Barolo crus in Serralunga d'Alba. The Langhe Nebbiolo is the wine without a cru on it: it carries the broader Langhe DOC, and the fruit comes from vineyards between 340 and 520 metres with mixed exposures.

The grapes are picked by hand in October. After a gentle crush the must ferments on its skins in concrete for about 15 days, with daily pump-overs and one délestage halfway through. The wine then rests for a few months in large 50-hectolitre casks of French oak.

The house presents it as an extremely versatile Nebbiolo, pleasant even in the warmer months, and suggests serving it at 14 to 16°C.

The 2023 season kept growers on their toes. The Consorzio's harvest report describes a cool, wet May and June that demanded close attention against early disease. On 6 July a storm of heavy rain and hail hit Alba, the hills towards the Belbo and part of the Roero, but left the Barolo hills unharmed. A hot, steady summer followed without serious drought stress.

Despite the heat, Nebbiolo was not picked early. It came in on its usual calendar, well into October, and the Consorzio says the summer brought neither excess sugar nor a drop in acidity.