2022 Francesco Brigatti, Vespolina “Maria” Colline Novaresi DOC, Northern Piedmonte, Italy.
A nice wine to pair with a Fall Season and Holiday meals, this bright ruby, pretty and lighter framed 2022 Vespolina by Francesco Brigatti has nice mineral tones and delicate florals to go with a silky palate of strawberry, wild plum, cherry and bramble berry fruits. A dusting of spices and tangy herbs add to the season’s best flavors, this is nicely balance, ripe and has plenty of lively acidity keeps things fresh. As mentioned before, when I reviewed Brigatti’s 2015 version, Vesplina is a rare native grape to the Northern Piedmonte and is usually found in field blends in the Ghemme, Bramaterra and Boca zones of the Colline Novaresi and usually a small part player in reds that feature Nebbiolo and Barbera. Vespolina is (a bit) like Ruche without the heavenly floral intensity, it makes for an interesting solo grape wine that has a similar feel to Nebbiolo, but lighter and brighter.
Brigatti, is a new star of the Alto Piedmonte (A region that is on fire right now with a stunning array of wines these days) and his wines, the ones I’ve tasted so far have been brilliant efforts, and this one is a steal, it’s a high quality red that thrills and stays focused and brisk, there’s no wood used at all here, this is as mentioned just a briskly pure Vespolina, stainless tank fermented and aged, 7 months, it picks up terroir/earthy notes with air, but keeps the tangy fruit pumping throughout, best with food and slightly rustic cuisine, drink it young and fresh, over the next 2 to 3 years. I had this vintage in a blind tasting of Piemonte varietals and had a difficult time deciding what possible grapes it could be, with its lighter less tannic frame, so I failed miserably to get close, but in the end I really enjoyed it for its own personality and charm. The cooler climate up here in the Colline Novaresi and glacier formed soils make for a distinctive terroir, with its unique combination of varietals, known like Nebbiolo, sometimes called Spanna here, and lesser known grapes like this Vespolina, it is a place to follow.
($28 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive