Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesRating: 91+
Mirafiore wines give expression to a vision, to a precise point of view promoting for some time by Fontanafredda's Bio-nature Reserve: eco-compatibility, the green philosophy. Meaning respect for the environment and the health of the end consumer. Ecological awareness is imprinted first and foremost on the work in the vineyards, where chemical fertilizers and weed-killers are banned, and pest treatments are substantially reduced in order to produce clean grapes with chemical residues approaching zero. The next step takes place in the winery, through a drastic reduction in the use of sulphites compared to legally-permitted limits, and preference given to native yeasts rather than industrial strains. Finally, rounding off the two previous phases, the packaging is composed of 85% recycled glass and labels produced using natural inks. And this is where the seeming contrast between old and new returns, where the new (the container) encloses the old (the contents), which is in turn old itself (traditional) precisely because it is new (clean and fair). Mirafiore wines: Pure expression of seeming contrasts.
The center of the production of the world’s most exclusive and age-worthy red wines made from Nebbiolo, the Barolo wine region includes five core townships: La Morra, Monforte d’Alba, Serralunga d’Alba, Castiglione Falletto and the Barolo village itself, as well as a few outlying villages. The landscape of Barolo, characterized by prominent and castle-topped hills, is full of history and romance centered on the Nebbiolo grape. Its wines, with the signature “tar and roses” aromas, have a deceptively light garnet color but full presence on the palate and plenty of tannins and acidity. In a well-made Barolo wine, one can expect to find complexity and good evolution with notes of, for example, strawberry, cherry, plum, leather, truffle, anise, fresh and dried herbs, tobacco and violets.
There are two predominant soil types here, which distinguish Barolo from the lesser surrounding areas. Compact and fertile Tortonian sandy marls define the vineyards farthest west and at higher elevations. Typically the Barolo wines coming from this side, from La Morra and Barolo, can be approachable relatively early on in their evolution and represent the “feminine” side of Barolo, often closer in style to Barbaresco with elegant perfume and fresh fruit.
On the eastern side of the Barolo wine region, Helvetian soils of compressed sandstone and chalks are less fertile, producing wines with intense body, power and structured tannins. This more “masculine” style comes from Monforte d’Alba and Serralunga d’Alba. The township of Castiglione Falletto covers a spine with both soil types.
The best Barolo wines need 10-15 years before they are ready to drink, and can further age for several decades.
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.