Try these 10 wines from Piedmont's microscopic Nebbiolo outposts

There is a group of DOC/Gs in the far northeast corner of Piedmont producing Nebbiolo wines against the dramatic backdrop of the Alps.

Gattinara and Ghemme (both DOCGs) are the best known, while Bramaterra along with the microscopic Lessona, Sizzano, Boca and Fara are the others.

Nebbiolo has been grown here for centuries, but in the sub-alpine climate with extreme temperature variations which slow down the vegetative cycle, the variety often struggled to get to full ripeness.

The wines were typically lean, with nervy acidity and bone-dry tannins; intense but rigid.

With time, they acquired complex tertiary aromas – it’s no coincidence that the production regulations impose extended wood and bottle ageing – but they were wines of another era.

The wines of today, meanwhile, present a very different profile. They drink earlier than in the past, with immediate fruit, ripe tannins, and the full spectrum of the wonderful floral-herb-spice aromas of Nebbiolo.

Despite the extra ripeness, they maintain the tangy mineral quality, the acidity, and the moderate alcohol which are all key notes of the terroir.

In an age when 15% abv Barolo is becoming commonplace, these northern Nebbiolos typically reach 13-13.5%, and even in the hottest vintages will rarely go over 14% alcohol

What makes the difference is the climate. The combination of drier summers with increased solar radiation, higher average temperatures, and more frequent temperature peaks creates the risk of accelerated but uneven ripening and wines with lower acidity, unwieldy high alcohol and baked fruit aromas.

But it is not all negative. While some traditional growing areas are feeling the heat, others are enjoying the benefits of a changing climate

Federico Rinolfi, winemaker at the La Piemontina estate in Ghemme explains: ‘Climate zones in Piemonte are shifting north. We now have the meso-climate of the Langhe of the past.’

The result is a shorter vegetative cycle but better, earlier ripening.

‘Nebbiolo used to need more time to ripen’, says Rinolfi. ‘Historically, the harvest went on until late October, now we finish in September.’

It's all in the soil

Local climate variations are minimal, but soil differences are significant – they are one of the historical reasons for the division of an area with just a handful of hectares under vine into no fewer than seven sub-zones.

For instance, Gattinara is the only place in Piedmont, and probably in the world for that matter, where Nebbiolo grows on soils of volcanic origin. It’s a terroir which gives the wines a distinctive minerally twist.

Ghemme and Bramaterra, on the other hand, have glacial-alluvial soils with more clay, giving the wines a rounder, softer character, while the sandy soils of Lessona make for very fine textures and intense floral aromas.

If there is a downside to all this sub-division, it is the scale of production. aAccording to the latest official figures, Gattinara has 94ha of vineyard with a production of fewer than 500,000 bottles. Ghemme has 50ha; Bramaterra 41ha; and Lessona – where production is in effect concentrated in a single estate, just 21ha.

The consequence is that you might have to hunt around for a bottle – but your efforts will be repaid.

A taste of Alto Piemonte: Richard Baudains' top picks

Related articles