Winemaker Notes
Red garnet in color with orange hints. The nose presents intense notes of violet and ripe strawberry. An excellent, well-integrated tannin structure accompanied by good acidity providing freshness.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is very serious for the appellation, with pure cherry, bark and walnut character as well as a hint of dark chocolate. Medium-bodied, firm and focused, with integrated tannins and a long and flavorful finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Bruno Giacosa 2022 Nebbiolo d'Alba Vigna Valmaggiore opens to bright cherry flavors and a pretty ruby color. The wine shows great fruit intensity, and there is a note of candied cherry that really pops in this vintage. It is especially fruity and bright. This is considered a hot vintage, but Bruna Giacosa tells me that it did not spark the same stress levels that vintners suffered in the more challenging 2023 vintage. Harvest occurred on the 4th and 5th of October, before the rain started. The fruit is generous and primary, and the wine ends with mildly chalky tannins.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from the sandy soils of Roero, the 2022 Nebbiolo D'Alba Vigna Valmaggiore is a translucent red color and opens to refreshing notes of bright redcurrants, lifted spice, an elegant floral perfume, and tangerine. A medium-bodied, elegant, and refined wine on the palate, with delicate fruity ripeness, it’s fresh and retains a lovely structure. It’s a fruity vintage for this wine, but it has a lovely refreshing acidity. Rating: 92+
One of the legendary winemakers of the world, Bruno Giacosa crafted the most prestigious single-vineyard Barolo and Barbaresco wines during a career that spanned nearly eight decades. He joined the family business at the age of 15, representing the third generation of his Langhe winemaking family. Giacosa’s unfailing pursuit of perfection, his unrivalled palate and his intimate knowledge of vineyards in the Langhe quickly drew recognition and helped establish Piedmont as a leading wine region. In 1982, Giacosa began to acquire prime parcels in Serralunga d’Alba, La Morra and Barbaresco to produce wines that are rightly regarded as the finest expressions of Nebbiolo.
His legacy rests with daughter Bruna, who continues to uphold her father’s winemaking philosophy to respect traditional techniques while using the best of modern technology. The goal is for each distinguished site to produce articulate, unique wines.
The “Azienda Agricola Falletto – di Bruno Giacosa” label represents wines made from estate vineyards. The “Casa Vinicola Bruno Giacosa” label appears on wines made from purchased grapes that are made with the same care in the Nieve winery.
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.
An historic village situated right in between the famous regions of Barolo and Barbaresco, Alba is also the name for the larger wine region surrounding the village.
In a sense, “Alba” is a catch-all phrase, and includes the declassified Nebbiolo wines made in Barolo and Barbaresco, as well as the Nebbiolo grown just outside of these regions’ borders. In fact, Nebbiolo d’Alba is a softer, less tannic and more fruit-forward wine ready to drink within just a couple years of bottling. It is a great place to start if you want to begin to understand the grape. Likewise, the even broader category of Langhe Nebbiolo offers approachable and value-driven options as well.
Barbera, planted alongside Nebbiolo in the surrounding hills, and referred to as Barbera d’Alba, takes on a more powerful and concentrated personality compared to its counterparts in Asti.
Dolcetto is ubiquitous here and, known as Dolcetto d'Alba, can be found casually served alongside antipasti on the tables of Alba’s cafes and wine bars.
Not surprisingly, given its location, Alba is recognized as one of Italy’s premiere culinary destinations and is the home of the fall truffle fair, which attracts visitors from worldwide every year.