Le Piane

Christoph Kuenzli is originally from Davos, East Switzerland, where he had his wine import company. In the 1990s, together with oenologist Alexander Trolf, he moved to Boca which, in the 19^th century, had vineyards covering areas of more than 40,000 hectares, but by that time was just filled with abandoned and forgotten vineyards overgrown by forest and greenery. But Christoph and Alexander were inspired by what they saw and the potential to grow wine in the area. They approached one of the last remaining winemakers, Antonio Cerri, who was already over the age of 80. He offered them his garden of 0.5 hectares and cellar. Since then, Le Piane has managed to expand the vineyard to over eight hectares.

The unique location of Boca allows Le Piane to make characteristic wines that are recognisable in their elegance and complexity. The vineyards are at a relatively high altitude (420-520 m), bordering the Alps. Because of their unique location in the hills, the vineyards are protected from the cold winds that come from the mountains. In combination with the exposure to the south of the vineyards, this ensures that the cultivated grape varieties such as nebbiolo, vespolina, croatina and a large number of lesser known local grapes such as uva rara, erbaluce and malvasia di boca, can ripen under the best possible conditions.

Like our producers (Elio Altare and Mauro Veglio) from the lower-situated Barolo, Le Piane produces a lot of nebbiolo. Nevertheless, the wines of Le Piane are distinctive. Especially in terms of their freshness (lower alcohol percentages), minerality and vibrancy, they offer a special variety, alongside our classic Barolo producers. Only the best bunches are picked in the vineyard, and the bad grapes are removed. This allows them to make harmonious wines in the most natural way.

Maybe it’s because they’re high up in the mountains that they make such heartwarming wines. Who knows.