2022 Poderi Luigi Einaudi, Langhe Nebbiolo DOC, Piemonte, Italy.
The lovely, bright garnet hued and fresh 2022 Langhe Nebbiolo by Luigi Einaudi is positively joyful in the glass with tangy classic Nebbiolo character, it shows off vivid black cherry, bramble berry, damson plum and grilled orange fruits, which are ripe and pleasing, plus a snappy array of herbs, crushed flowers and spicy notes. These Langhe Nebbiolo wines are sometimes called baby Barolo, but are early drinking versions and this one is easy to love with a lighter sense of tannins, pretty lavender and rose petal floral aromatics and juicy acidity, so no patience required, and especially with a good food pairing. This wine saw a temperature controlled fermentation in a mix of stainless steel and concrete tank with between eight and ten days of maceration on the skins, after completing primary and malolactic fermentation the wine then see a few months in wood casks. All of this allows for purity and transparency in the bottled wine, and I highly recommend this Einaudi Langhe Nebbiolo for its quality and value.
The Einaudi Langhe Nebbiolo grapes are sourced exclusively from Nebbiolo vines in the Dogliani zone, most noted for the Dolcetto wines, set on marl and calcareous soils, making for a vividly pure and mineral driven wine, as seen here with this 2022 version. The latest generation of the Einaudi family, who have been making wine in Piemonte for more than 125 years, Matteo Sardagna leads the Poderi now and has continued to produce an excellent collection of wines, obviously with Barolo being the star. The Poderi Luigi Einaudi has a stellar lineup of Cru Barolo vines in star studded sites, including Barolo DOCG Ludo, Barolo DOCG Terlo Vigna Costa Grimaldi, Barolo DOCG Monvigliero, Barolo DOCG Cannubi, Barolo DOCG Bussia and the coveted Barolo DOCG Villero. The family was originally from the mentioned Dogliani and they do a beautiful DOCG Dolcetto, as well as some Piemonte gems, like Barbera, Arneis and Moscato, all that and more, including specialties like Grappa and Chinato. I also with note that the normal basic Barolo, and their under the radar Barbaresco, are well worth searching out too, as they offer very distinctive terroir driven character at a reasonable price too.
($29 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive