2022 Margherita Otto, Langhe Nebbiolo DOC, Piemonte, Italy.
The expressive and delicious Langhe Nebbiolo from ex pat American winemaker Alan Manley at Margherita Otto is a great new find from Piemonte and I loved the complexity and purity of form here with a classic Nebbiolo balsamic and earthy edge and layered berry, damson plum, reduced strawberry, cherry and burnt orange fruits, along with tar, minty herbs, leather, black licorice, incense and dried porcini. This label, Margherita Otto, all new to me, was founded by Manley in 2015 and his first release came out in May of 2019 with the 2015 vintage Barolo. His entry level Langhe Nebbiolo, which is all tank raised, is now only on the third vintage, but includes some serious fruit sources and while not cheap, is a worthy find and seductive effort. Margherita Otto is imported by Rare Wine Company, who are good talent spotters here in the Langhe, so I was intrigued when I got my chance to try this one and will definitely drink more of this stuff.
This Langhe Nebbiolo, according to the winery was made from a small part of vines in the Vignane zone, part of the Langhe Nebbiolo DOC as well as some declassified fruit from the Barolo parcels the winery has, including their new Coste di Rose cru, making for an elevated and pedigreed wine. Manley, mentored at Sandrone, also gained experience, as he says, in the cellars of Elio Altare, Cantina Mascarello, Alfio and Giuseppe Cavallotto and Marco Marengo, which clearly set him on his way to good things. The Margherita Otto Langhe Nebbiolo was picked by hand, carefully sorted and fermented in a stainless steel tank with twice-daily pump-overs during its primary fermentation with temperature control to preserve aromatics and clarity. After that wine was racked off the skins, after close to 9 days when the sugars came down to near zero, then it completed malolactic and finished maturing, close to 9 months total, in the stainless before bottling and resting in the cellar prior to release. I look forward to following Manley’s work and especially the Barolo offerings, but this is a very nice way to get started with his wines and I recommend looking for it.
($38-45 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive