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Sandrone

Le Vigne Barolo 2020

Barolo

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Le Vigne Barolo is often a dark and impenetrable wine in its youth. With proper cellaring, this wine reveals more classic Barolo aspects of black cherries, tar, violets and roses.

Le Vigne is a wine created from five different Nebbiolo vineyards, each of which brings its own contribution. This union generates an exceptionally complex wine that is round and harmonious on the palate, with fruity and spicy notes, and this approach of blending together plots is in fact the traditional one in Barolo. The five vineyards are: 3.5 acres in Merli (Novello), 2 acres in Vignane (Barolo), 3 acres in Villero (Castiglione Falletto), 6.5 acres in Baudana (Serralunga d’Alba), 5 acres in Le Coste di Monforte (Monforte d’Alba). This wine is the symphony of a territory. The ancient art of blending Nebbiolo grapes from several vineyards, keeping the different expressions seperate until the final assembly.

VINEYARD

Le Vigne is a wine created from five different vineyards, each of which brings its own contribution. The first vineyard, Vignane, is situated in the historical part of the Barolo appellation and shares many characteristics with Cannubi. The Merli vineyard is located in Novello, with the Sandrone section in a south-southwest facing bowl that captures the afternoon light perfectly. The wines made from here are earthy and robust but with good aromatic complexity. The third vineyard, Baudana in Serralunga d’Alba, gives the wine additional depth and richness. Le Vigne also includes fruit from Villero, a newly acquired vineyard in Castiglione Falletto. The newest vineyard is Le Coste di Monforte (Monforte d’Alba).

WINEMAKING

Each vineyard is vinified separately, and after destemming and light crushing, the must is covered with CO2 for a gentle warm maceration of approximately a day. Alcoholic fermentation begins about 24-36 hours later from native yeasts. A gentle maceration takes place in upright open-top steel tanks for the first 7-18 days of alcoholic fermentation. Immediately after alcoholic fermentation, which takes about 28 days, malolactic fermentation takes place in 500-liter French oak casks. The wine is aged in these casks (25% new) for 24 months.

VINTAGE

A wet late winter and early spring replenished the water tables. Budbreak was late March in the normal timeframe. Heat arrived after the flowering in late June for 10 days, which helped with the berry set. The rest of the vegetative cycle was cooler than normal except for another 10 days of moderate heat just before the veraison. Intermittent rains throughout the summer refreshed the plants and ground cover vegetation. A water bomb on 5 September brought hail to some parts of the Barolo and Barbaresco areas, luckily, none of the Sandrone vineyards were affected, though the hail passed about 500 meters from the Baudana vineyard sites. From 6 September on conditions were perfect thru the rest of the harvest period, with warm, dry days and cool, refreshing nights. The grape variety Nebbiolo, which by its nature is very resistant and able to thrive even in extreme weather, has benefitted from the climatic conditions of the season. The result is a perfect balance of fruit and acidity. Harvest took place on October 12th.

TASTING NOTE

A vintage like 2019 comes along only a few times in the career of a winemaker and the 3-generation Sandrone team took full advantage of the potential of this extraordinary year. The Barolo Le Vigne 2019 lets its exceptional power shine through, waiting for its best moment to come. It will require patience! The nose is compact and full of dark fruits, spice, licorice and violet notes, closed and tightly wound but bursting with potential. The flavors are still one-dimensional at this early stage, but patience will yield a wine of great complexity and structure for long ageing. The finish is very dry with ripe tannins that seem to linger for minutes.

Color

Red

Grape Varieties

Nebbiolo

Appellation

Barolo

Farming

Follows organic farming but has chosen not to seek certification. Minimal quantities of Bordeaux mixture and sulfur (as allowed per organic practices) are used to control mold and fungus, and fertilization every 4-6 years occurs with composted manure from dairy cows.

Alcohol

14.5%

Suggested Retail Price

$176

Trade Materials

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