Elvio Cogno Barolo Vigna Elena Riserva 2019

Elvio Cogno's estate sits in Novello, at the southwestern edge of the Barolo zone in Piedmont, where in 1990 he acquired an 18th-century property surrounded by vineyards now run by his daughter Nadia and son-in-law Valter Fissore. Vigna Elena is made from a rosé clone of Nebbiolo, an old, low-yielding selection that gives a more perfumed, lighter-coloured wine. Barolo grows on the calcareous marl soils of the Langhe hills, which combined with the cool climate and Nebbiolo's late ripening produce a wine of high acidity, firm tannin and pronounced aromatic complexity. As a Riserva the wine is aged for thirty-six months in foudres, large wooden casks whose slow oxygen exchange gradually softens Nebbiolo's powerful tannin and develops tertiary aromas while adding little overt oak. It is pale garnet, typical of the variety, with red cherry and dried rose on the nose deepening into liquorice, leather, tobacco and forest floor. The palate is medium bodied but firmly structured, with grippy tannin, bright acidity and a long, savoury finish. Serve at around 18 degrees, decanted well ahead. Classic with braised beef, game and truffle dishes.