Came back from a fun (and educational) trip to the Langhe. Stayed outside La Morra in Relaise Juliette, where the staff was EXTREMELY helpful in our planning (and even babysat for two kids on short notice!). Not walkable to the restaurants in La Morra, however. On that point, many excellent restaurants. Osteria de Veglio (La Morra) was our #1 (and we went twice), but we also enjoyed Le Torri (Castiglione), Bovio (La Morra), Bercau (Verduno), and others.
Overall, the quality of wine out of the Langhe is improving rapidly. I liked the 2018-19 renditions of many wines, where I wasnāt really partial to them in 2013. Many producers are experimenting with whole cluster (new players in Monvigliero, Cogno in Ravera), longer macerations, more focused viniculture, and even a push towards weightless wines or planning for climate change. While not every wine drank was a āwowā wine, it was a āwowā experience as there were so many good wines.
2018 has great wines, just earlier drinking ones. I honestly came into my trip a little disappointed to try 2018s given its poor reputation, but I learned a lesson to just taste oneself (when one can!). 2018s reminded of what many said they liked about the 2017 Burgundy vintage in youth: expressive, charming, with approachable tannin. However, the 2018s arenāt agers and seem ready to drink in 3-10 years. Accordingly, 2018s will be good to buy off restaurant wine lists, as a young vintage that is actually drinkable in youth! If you want some Nebbiolo to enjoy in youth with rich and gentle red fruit (very red!), without mouth puckering austerity ā this is the vintage for you. Some called it a āgentle vintageā. The 2018s still have structure, but the intensities are dialed down a small notch: the fruit is red, rich and ripe without being powerful/overly concentrated, the acids arenāt overbearing, and the tannins are gentle.
None of the winemakers I spoke to referred to 2019 as a great/legendary vintage (for example with the same reverence given to 2016). Although it does sound like a pretty good vintage. 2019 seems to be a lower alcohol (0.5% in many cases) and more structured than 2018. While 2018 is rich and charming, Iām expecting 2019 to be cooler and more classic. I will personally seek out wines I thought were too rich for my taste in 2018, as I expect their 2019 renditions to have more precision and structure.
I did not get much information on 2020 or 2021. Some producers called out 2020 as a better vintage than 2019. However, this sample set was small and idiosyncratic. For example, Cogno continues to evolve his process in Ravera, Gulia Negriās vines are reaching maturity, etc. Overall, I didnāt walk away with consensus 2020 was wildly better than 2019, although the measured description of 2019 leads me to think this may be the case.
Below are my Instagram posts from the trip with more information (if you click through to Instagram, you will see text about the visit/wine etc., which I donāt think comes through on WB). I visited with Cogno, Burlotto, Giulia Negri, Marchesi di Gresy, and Vietti. And I drank whenever I could off the many excellent wine lists.
I donāt know hwo to make these Instagram posts not huge (they fill up my entire screen), but I donāt see a way to hide them as a āspoilerā (if anyone knows how, please let me know):