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Gianluigi Lano, Barbaresco “Rocche Massalupo”

Piedmont, Italy 2015 (750mL)
Regular price$42.00
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Gianluigi Lano, Barbaresco “Rocche Massalupo”

It’s exciting to watch when, out of nowhere, the sommelier community really gets behind a new wine and then the momentum and buzz takes on a life of its own. Such was the case with GIanluigi Lano’s Barbaresco. Right about the same time SommSelect offered a previous vintage of this stunning wine last year, it simultaneously began lighting up top wine lists in Northern California. A coveted by-the-glass honor at The French Laundry. Next, a star turn at San Francisco’s Quince/Cotogna/Verjus mini-empire.


The explanation for all this attention isn’t complicated: With intense perfume, vivid terroir, and the near-perfect 2015 vintage to boot, today’s bottle is an exceptional expression of the hallowed Barbaresco terroir. I can easily name 5-10 outstanding $75-$100 bottles of Barbaresco in the US market, but there are few possessing this unique ratio of quality to low price. I encourage anyone with the means to enjoy a bottle immediately, and also stash away five or six bottles in the cellar. Having enjoyed bottles of Lano from the early 2000s, I can assure this beauty is built to last!


The Rocche Massolupo cru sits at the southern edge of the Barbaresco growing zone, as does the Lano family cantina, in the village of San Rocco Seno d’Elvio. Were you to drive through this little town it’s likely the naturally farmed and relatively wild-looking Lano vineyards would catch your eye: synthetic pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides are all forbidden, so don’t expect one of those neatly manicured tracts with nothing but dirt under the vine rows. The soils here are alive and un-manipulated, producing pristine grapes that are given the most traditional, minimalist treatment in the cellar—and yes, you most certainly can taste it! Exceedingly pretty, silky, and evoking both mineral-rich earth and ripe, sun-kissed fruit, this is what people mean when they call Barbaresco the “queen” to Barolo’s “king.” As history has shown us time and again, it’s often the Queen who truly reigns supreme—and you won’t encounter Lano’s wines often (if at all) in the US market; in a few years, you’ll be the one saying “I knew them when…”



Working with vineyards handed down from his father, Gianluigi Lano only began bottling wines under his own label in the early 1990s. Assisted by his wife, Daniela, and son, Samuele, he has made organic farming a priority and obtained certification a few years ago; the family produces a concise lineup of wines, including two Barbarescos, with today’s hailing from the only cru vineyard, Rocche Massalupo, that belongs entirely to San Rocco Seno d’Elvio (only a portion of this village falls within the boundaries of the Barbaresco DOCG zone, and its other Barbaresco-designated vineyards—“Rizzi,” “Montersino,” and “Meruzzano”—bleed over into the village of Treiso). The contours of the Rocche Massalupo are varied, as it wraps itself around a hillside all the way from south (and even a little southeast) up to the northwest. The Lanos source grapes from parcels facing south-southwest, sharing space in the Rocche Massalupo with several neighbors, including the legendary Pio Cesare winery, which counts it as a key site.



Gianluigi Lano has built his career on elegant, classic Barbaresco but today’s 2015 adds an Mike Trout-approved shot of youth and muscularity to the equation. 2015 was a warm, sunkissed growing season and it’s evident in this wine’s dark cherry and ripe berry power. But, by no means is this wine a “fruit bomb.” Sandalwood, cuban cigar tobacco, and black tar aromatics share equal stage time with more delicate rose/lavender notes. While intensity and heft are ever present, the balance here is impeccable—medium/full-bodied and fresh, with bright acidity and polished, relatively mild tannins—and truly impressive length on the finish. If drinking in the near term, please decant for 45 minutes and serve (preferably alongside a bowl of agnolotti dal plin dressed with brown butter, sage, and a generous dusting of Parm!) at 60 degrees in large Burgundy stems. But, again, I want to stress that Gianluigi Lano is a master of age-worthy Barbaresco and today’s 2015 is destined to become a valued cellar treasure in years to come!  Cheers.

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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.

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