Giovanni Rosso Langhe Nebbiolo 2023

Giovanni Rosso has farmed in the Langhe for more than a century, working from Serralunga d'Alba in the heart of Piedmont. This Langhe Nebbiolo draws on declassified fruit from the same calcareous marl soils that give Barolo its grip, the clay and limestone holding water through Piedmont's dry summers while the marked diurnal swing between warm days and cool nights preserves acidity and slows ripening, locking in aromatic precision. Nebbiolo is naturally high in tannin and acid, and twelve months in French oak softens the phenolics through slow oxygen exchange without masking the variety. The fruit is organically grown. The colour is pale garnet, typical of a grape that gives more perfume than pigment. The nose leads with wild strawberry and red currant, lifted by rose and a savoury hint of liquorice, while the palate is lithe and fresh, the acidity framing fine, drying tannins that close on earth and leather. This is a more approachable register of Nebbiolo than Barolo, built for the table rather than the cellar. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees, ideally decanted for half an hour, in a wide bowled glass. It suits braised beef, mushroom risotto and aged Alpine cheese.