Nose

This wine has a complex bouquet with aromas of red fruits and plums with hints rose petals, sweet red fruits and a hint of black figs.

Palate

'Le Albe' is full of sophisticated and delicate flavours supported by ripe tannins and an elegant acidity.

Growing Conditions

The grapes for this wine are grown in three different vineyards: Fossati, which faces south-east and was planted between 1969-2004, Coste di Vergne, which faces south-west, planted in 1995, and the 180º east-west vineyard of La Volta, planted between 1998-2000. The vineyards are located at 380-480 metres above sea level and are all in the township of Barolo. Sustainable viticulture is used in all the vineyards and there is no irrigation. Training is by Guyot and a green harvest usually takes place according to vigour and the climate during the growing season.

2015 was a thrilling vintage which has yielded rich yet vibrant wines. Winter was very snowy, and mild temperatures from February led to early bud break. By flowering, which took place in the middle of May, the season was about 10 days ahead of norm. More rain fell between the end of May and early June, and this helped the vines survive a very hot month of July. Fruit was very healthy but yields were slightly down owing to some sporadic hailstorms (starting May 8th), and to the summer heat.

Harvest

Harvest was slightly anticipated and fruit quality was great across the board.

The grapes were hand picked and hand sorted in the second and third week of October.

Winemaking

Fermentation, with indigenous yeasts, took place in custom-designed vertical vats. Maceration lasted 25 days at temperatures not exceeding 32ºC with gentle punch downs. Malolactic took place in stainless steel vats the following spring. The wine was then moved to large Slavonian oak casks (40, 50 and 75hL) to age for 26 to 32 months with racking once a year. The wine was blended in spring prior to bottling.