Tiziano Mazzoni, Nebbiolo del Monteregio
Tiziano Mazzoni, Nebbiolo del Monteregio

Tiziano Mazzoni, Nebbiolo del Monteregio

Piedmont, Italy 2018 (750mL)
Regular price$22.00
/
Your cart is empty.
  • In stock, ready to ship
  • Inventory on the way
Fruit
Earth
Body
Tannin
Acid
Alcohol

Tiziano Mazzoni, Nebbiolo del Monteregio

One thing about wines from the Nebbiolo grape: They typically require a little more of an investment—of money, time, or both—on the part of the drinker. Nebbiolo is a late-ripening, thin-skinned variety, challenging to farm and thus likely to cost a little more when it becomes wine. Moreover, young Nebbiolo wine, especially from Barolo and Barbaresco, is serious, powerful stuff that typically requires an occasion and food to match.


Today’s wine, however, not only shatters the pricing mold but illustrates why so many Italian wine lovers have embraced the assorted Nebbiolo-based appellations of northern Piedmont, a.k.a. “alto Piemonte”—because it shows off a gentler touch. There’s less alcohol and less tannin, but no less of the evocative aromatic profile that so distinguishes Nebbiolo. To enjoy the full Nebbiolo experience in a “daily drinker” format is a rare treat, and we have Tiziano Mazzoni, mechanic-turned-winemaker, to thank for it. Sourced from vineyards in the Ghemme region of northern Piedmont, this is a happy, harmonious, brightly perfumed take on Nebbiolo that captures the essence of the grape without any of the excesses. It is “all-occasion” Nebbiolo, which is something worth celebrating.


Tiziano Mazzoni is a modern-day back-to-the-lander who, in 1999, acquired a small assortment of vineyards in the Ghemme DOCG, where his family has had roots for generations. His wines are evidence of the ongoing revival of regions such as Ghemme, Gattinara, Lessona, and other historic appellations of Northern Piedmont. This area was once the commercial capital of Piedmontese wine, much more significant than Barolo and Barbaresco, but in the modern era, appellations such as Ghemme are shadows of their former selves. The Ghemme appellation, for example, only has about 20 producers making wine from just 80 or so hectares of registered vineyards. After the Second World War, Northern Piedmont rapidly industrialized, prompting many farmers—including Tiziano’s father, who went to work at a plumbing-fixtures factory—to mostly abandon their vineyards.



Mazzoni’s small winery is in the hamlet of Cavaglio d’Agogna, in the hills east of Ghemme, where his family has roots dating to the 14th century. He decided, at the age of 40, to go into winemaking, and has since acquired 4.5 hectares of vineyards in and around his home village, from which he produces around 1,200 cases of wine a year. He is farming organically (non-certified as of yet) and crafting his wines in the same style as his favorite ‘traditional’ Barolos, which inspired him to get into wine in the first place: He favors 100% Nebbiolo wines (even though the Ghemme and Colline Novaresi appellations allow for blending) aged in larger-sized, used oak barrels.



Ghemme and its surrounding hills (which fall under the broader Colline Novaresi designation) sit on the eastern bank of the Sesia River, which runs from the glaciers of Monte Rosa down past the towns of Novara and Vercelli to connect with the Pò further south. The cluster of appellations along the Sesia north of Novara—Ghemme, Gattinara, Lessona, Boca, Bramaterra, Sizzano, Fara—sit in the shadow of the Alps, on soils comprised mostly of volcanic material, red clay, and some alluvial gravel/sand. The Ghemme area is a gentle plateau above the Sesia with a higher clay percentage than many of its neighbors—including the more-volcanic Gattinara directly across the river—and there’s a gentleness to even the longer-aged DOCG Ghemme wines that is uniquely appealing.



Mazzoni’s use of the ‘Colline Novaresi’ DOC designation here is much the same as a Barolo producer bottling a ‘Langhe Nebbiolo’ DOC wine: Colline Novaresi/Langhe Nebbiolo cover the same basic geographic area as Ghemme/Barbaresco but are slightly less circumscribed in terms of the overall production discipline, including the minimum aging requirement (this wine, for example, is designed to drink young and is aged for a much shorter period than a Ghemme would be). The “del Monteregio” reference on the label is a historical one, referring to the Monteregio hills, of which Ghemme is one part.



Today’s 2016 was fermented in stainless steel and subjected to a (relatively short) maceration of 10 days; it was then aged for one year in used, 500-liter French oak tonneaux (compared to 18 months’ minimum for Ghemme). And while I’m usually reluctant to compare Nebbiolo to Pinot Noir, here it works: In the glass, it’s a bright, reflective garnet-red with pink and orange reflections, with a perfumed nose of bing cherry, crushed red raspberries, rose petals, citrus peel, leather, and a hint of pepper. Medium-bodied and quite silky by Nebbiolo standards, it is delicious to drink now, and often: Decant it 30 minutes before service at 60-65 degrees in Burgundy stems and know that it’ll be right at home with chicken, beef, pork…maybe even roasted salmon if you’re so inclined. The tannins are fine-grained and the acidity is fresh without being sharp; it really goes down smoothly and relatively effortlessly, so be warned—a second bottle may get opened quickly. It’s easily one of the best Nebbiolo values we’ve offered all year, so don’t miss it!

Tiziano Mazzoni, Nebbiolo del Monteregio
Country
Region
Sub-Region
Soil
Farming
Blend
Alcohol
OAK
TEMP.
Glassware
Drinking
Decanting

Italy

Northwestern Italy

Piedmont

Italy’s Piedmont region is really a wine “nation”unto itself, producing world-class renditions of every type of wine imaginable: red, white, sparkling, sweet...you name it! However, many wine lovers fixate on the region’s most famous appellations—Barolo and Barbaresco—and the inimitable native red that powers these wines:Nebbiolo.

Tuscany

Chianti

The area known as “Chianti” covers a major chunk of Central Tuscany, from Pisa to Florence to Siena to Arezzo—and beyond. Any wine with “Chianti” in its name is going to contain somewhere between 70% to 100% Sangiovese, and there are eight geographically specific sub-regions under the broader Chianti umbrella.

Others We Love