How it tastesWild berries and cassis, with violet, liquorice, dried ginger and a herbal edge behind. Full-bodied and firmly built, the tannins fine-grained rather than hard, closing long and smooth. Nebbiolo 100%.The producerThe Brezza family work 12.5 hectares split between the commune of Barolo — Cannubi, Castellero and Sarmassa — the two-hectare Santa Rosalia estate just outside the DOCG zone, and further plots at Monforte d'Alba and Novello; the estate has been certified organic since the 2015 vintage. The Cannubi holding runs to 1.4 hectares, planted in 1994 with further plantings in 2003 and farmed organically since 2010, sitting at 250 metres on a south-easterly aspect where two of the four geological formations of Barolo meet, the Sant'Agata Fossil Marl and the Diano Sandstone, with Lampia and Michet clones at 3,700 vines per hectare. Winemaker Enzo Brezza works with minimal sulphur, macerating for a further ten to fifteen days with frequent pump-overs, taking the wine through malolactic conversion in cement at 18°C, then twenty-four months in Slavonian oak barrels of 15 to 30 hectolitres; around 9,000 numbered bottles were cellared for a year at 15°C before release.Food and drinkingServe at 16 to 18°C. Good with braised beef, roast veal, game birds, wild mushroom tagliatelle and aged Castelmagno. Drinking now and over the next five to ten years; give it an hour in a decanter. Sealed with a Nomacorc technical closure. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans.
