Taverna Langhe Nebbiolo 2021

This family estate was founded in the 1930s by Roberto Taverna's grandfather. They planted vines in Neive, one of the four villages of Barbaresco. Back in 1974, they were among the first to bottle a single-vineyard Barbaresco. This Langhe Nebbiolo is a blend from the Gaia-Principe and Cottà crus, both historic properties of the family. Plus a little from Marcorino, the "city vineyard" of Neive, which they replanted in 2016.

The 2021 vintage was a restart year, after two years of lockdowns. Spring was cold, summer had rain, disease pressure was real. They fermented fast, just seven days in stainless steel, with a short three-day post-fermentation maceration after. A third of the wine aged in old French oak for 14 months. The rest stayed in stainless steel. That's something they've never done before. Only 1,417 bottles.

Rose petals and carnations, sweet and savoury and dusty all at once. Freshly crushed pomegranate, wild strawberry. Juicy, salty, serious but also so friendly. Kind of a paradox? It wants you to take it seriously but it also wants you to just drink it. When we first tasted this wine, we were in awe. That little bit of volatile acidity, the thing that can ruin a wine if it's not careful, was so well integrated it was almost lifting the soul of the wine. So beautiful. So on point.

Give it a little time in a glass. Drink it with anything braised, anything roasted.