Barolo Perno

The estate's flagship, from Nebbiolo grown on the east and south slopes around the cascina in the Perno cru. Perno is one of the largest crus in the denomination, covering the whole frazione at the northeastern edge of Monforte d'Alba; Sandri's parcels sit on the east flank that looks across the valley toward Serralunga, on the Lequio-formation soils of that side - grayish loam veined with sand and blue marl, at 300 to 350 metres. Because the slope faces east it runs cooler than its west-facing equivalents, which pushes the harvest later and is the heart of Sandri's freshness argument.

It is made the way he makes everything: native-yeast fermentation with a long maceration, then several years in big old Slavonian botti, unfined and unfiltered. Elevage varies by vintage - the 2019, for reference, spent around 44 months in cask - and the wine is released only when he decides it is ready, roughly five years after the harvest here. 2017 was a hot, very dry Barolo year: an April frost cut yields, a long drought followed, and Nebbiolo came in exceptionally early, giving a riper, earlier-drinking style than the cooler vintages. Note that the estate bottles both a Perno and a Perno Riserva; this is the normale.