Le Piane – Juicy and Heartwarming
The sun is out, but the weather still feels somewhat chilly. Early spring begs for wine to give it that extra push of joy. With its moods and foods, this season calls for heartwarming but light reds and smo(a)ky whites. Thank goodness for Le Piane, whose new wines and vintages have just arrived at our store.
Up in the hills of Piedmont, north of the better-known regions of Asti and Barolo, we find this small winery. Since his co-founding of Le Piane in the 1990s, principal winemaker Christoph Kuenzli has done his damnedest to put the region Boca on the contemporary wine map. Besides growing the local celebrity grape Nebbiolo, he also cultivates more niche grapes such as Vespolina, Croatina and Uva Rara.
Kuenzli favours both lighter vinification methods, such as the use of stainless steel, and bolder ones, as he’s not afraid to age wine on a bit of oak. This makes for an interresting palette of wine styles. Most striking about the wines from Le Piane are their raciness and the opulent fruit. In each of them we find a distinctive hint of holiday spices as well, an aroma that many will find very soothing.
Maybe it’s because they’re high up in the mountains that they make such heartwarming wines.
Who knows.
In our store, you will find the new vintages of their good old ‘Colline Novaresi’ Nebbiolo, as well as cuvées more specific to the region like Mimmo, Maggiorina and Le Piane. Also, don’t miss out on their latest edition: an aged, white Erbaluce, called ‘Eos’.
