2020 Curto Marco Barolo (Arborina) “La Foia” comes from a tiny, family estate in the Annunziata hamlet of La Morra, where Nadia Curto farms about 4 hectares on the famed Arborina hill with her father, Marco. Nadia is the daughter of Marco and the niece of legendary modernist Barolo producer Elio Altare, and her style is literally a blend of her father’s traditionalism and her uncle’s revolutionary techniques: long, hard-earned family farming experience, plus Altare-inspired organic, low‑intervention winemaking. She pushed Marco to bottle under the Curto name in the early 2000s and has since moved the estate toward organic viticulture and minimal manipulation, letting Nebbiolo and site do the talking.

“La Foia” is especially important because it is Nadia’s more traditional Arborina bottling, made from some of the oldest Nebbiolo vines on the slope with longer maceration and aging in large botti rather than barrique. All the fruit still comes from Arborina—one of La Morra’s most coveted crus, with marne (marl) soils of clay and sand on a south to southeast exposure that give perfumed, structured yet supple Barolo—but La Foia shows the cru through a slower, more classic lens: deeper, earthier, and more ageworthy than her “modern” Arborina cuvée. That combination of blue‑chip terroir, old vines, and a stylistic bridge between Barolo Boys modernism and old‑school Langhe tradition is what gives this wine its cult appeal.

Why you’ll love it:

• Old‑vine Arborina Nebbiolo delivers a core of red cherry, rose petal, licorice, and truffle‑tinged earth wrapped in fine but authoritative tannins—La Morra silk with real backbone.

• The “dual education” from Marco and Elio means you get clean, precise fruit and lift without losing the savory depth and aging potential that make classic Barolo so compelling. Expect a wine that is charming young with air, but really hits its stride 8–15 years from vintage.

• If you love site‑transparent, minimally dressed Nebbiolo, this is a benchmark expression of Arborina that remains far more accessible in price and allocation than many neighbors working the same hill.

How to serve it:

• Give the 2020 a solid decant of 1.5–3 hours in a medium‑to‑large Burgundy or Nebbiolo stem to soften the tannins and let the floral and balsamic notes unwind.

• Serve at in the low 60s°F too warm and the alcohol and tannin jump, too cold and the nose shuts down. This is built for braised meats, rich pastas (tajarin with ragu, mushroom risotto), and aged cheeses that can match its structure.

• If you’re cellaring, plan on a drinking window from the mid‑2020s into the early/mid‑2030s; for near‑term drinking, open it the day you pour or even “slow‑ox” in bottle for a few hours before decanting to really show what Arborina can do.