Valmaggiore Sandrone Nebbiolo d’Alba Nebbiolo with Pizza
We ordered our favorite pizza from our neighborhood Rosatti’s (“Monster” Pizza, thin crust, well done, replace green olives with extra green pepper) for the NCAA Championship Final to root for our B1G TEN representative Michigan. I pulled from the cellar an Italian Nebbiolo to pair with the pizza, an ideal accompaniment, thereby enhancing the enjoyment of both the food and the wine.Valmaggiore Sandrone Nebbiolo d’Alba 2022
This is from the Sandrone family winery in the town of Vezza d'Alba, from their 66 acres of vineyards spread between Langa and Roero, one of the most iconic producers in the Barolo wine region.
Luciano Sandrone learned viticulture from the early age of 14 or 15. After years of work as a cellarman he depleted his life savings and purchased his first vineyard on the Cannubi hill in 1977, managing his land on the weekends while continuing to work his ‘day job’. He produced his first vintage in 1978, in the garage of his parents, continuing at home every vintage until 1999, when the winery he constructed in 1998 was ready for use.
Through 50 year of harvests, he focuses on the native Barolo region varietals: Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto, crafted in a portfolio of six red wines.
The estate is situated in an amphitheater in the Roero zone, in the town of Vezza d'Alba, on the left bank of the Tanaro river on the concave Valmaggiore hill, facing the south, the steep slopes have full exposure to the sun, with soft and sandy soil.
Valmaggiore Sandrone Nebbiolo d’Alba 2022
This is 100% Nebbiolo, designated Nebbiolo d'Alba DOC. During the harvested six separate passes were make to bring in fruit at optimal ripeness. It was fermented from indigenous yeasts, with maceration and fermentation in open steel tanks, and aged in French Oak tonneaux of 500 liters for 9 months before release. This label was first produced in 1994, sourced from the Valmaggiore estate vineyard in Roero, in the village of Vezza d'Alba. Production was 28,000 bottles.
It was rated 93 points by Decanter, Vinous and Jeb Dunnuck, and 92 points by James Sucklng, Wine Advocate and Kerrin O’Keefe.
Winemaker Notes - “Valmaggiore is an exercise in restraint. It offers up pretty, uplifting aromas of red fruits, roses, white pepper and freshly-picked violets. On the palate, red fruits are front and center, framed by tobacco, spice and mineral notes. The tannins are both strong and soft yet give the wine its unmistakable mid-weight structure. The acidity is bracingly fresh, and the finish long and layered, with red fruits, graphite and earth notes lingering.”
Bright but somewhat opaque ruby colored, medium-bodied, vibrant, smooth, structured, fresh ripe red raspberry and cherry fruits with notes of nutmeg, clove spice, rosehip tea, orange peel, earth and dusty rose with hints of kirsch on a long moderate silky tannin and fresh acidic laced finish.
RM 91 points.
