Winemaker Notes
Dante's Sixth Canto describes the punishments inflicted on gluttons. The landscape is flailed by eternal rain and Cerberus barks horribly, baring his teeth, but Virgil silences him by filling his mouth with earth.
The estates only holding in the Inferno subzone, the grapes here produce the Sesto Canto bottling in exceptional years, or are otherwise the Fiamme Antiche when wines are more prompt and they do not produce Riserva.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
There are lovely accents of eucalyptus and lavender to the rich fruit and spice character in this silky red, which delivers a generous beam of mulled cherry flavors. Finely balanced and long on the palate. A beauty. Drink now through 2036.
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James Suckling
Lifted red currant, camphor and rose aromas. Light-bodied with crisp acidity and dusty yet light and crunchy tannins. The structure defies integration, but the finish is polished with pristine fruit character. Drink or hold.
Responsible for some of the most elegant and age-worthy wines in the world, Nebbiolo, named for the ubiquitous autumnal fog (called nebbia in Italian), is the star variety of northern Italy’s Piedmont region. Grown throughout the area, as well as in the neighboring Valle d’Aosta and Valtellina, it reaches its highest potential in the Piedmontese villages of Barolo, Barbaresco and Roero. Outside of Italy, growers are still very much in the experimentation stage but some success has been achieved in parts of California. Somm Secret—If you’re new to Nebbiolo, start with a charming, wallet-friendly, early-drinking Langhe Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo d'Alba.
Containing an exciting mix of wine producing subregions, Lombardy is Italy’s largest in size and population. Good quality Pinot noir, Bonarda and Barbera have elevated the reputation of the plains of Oltrepò Pavese. To its northeast in the Alps, Valtellina is the source of Italy’s best Nebbiolo wines outside of Piedmont. Often missed in the shadow of Prosecco, Franciacorta produces collectively Italy’s best Champagne style wines, and for the fun and less serious bubbly, find Lambrusco Mantovano around the city of Mantua. Lugana, a dry white with a devoted following, is produced to the southwest of Lake Garda.