A palpable density, minerality, and “seriousness” here separates this wine from more pedestrian “Nebbiolo d’Alba” or “Langhe Nebbiolo” appellation reds.

The fruit for this Nebbiolo originates in Renzo Castella’s small vineyard which hugs the border between Diano d’Alba and Serralunga d’Alba, Barolo, and a quick glance at any geological map of Barolo clearly displays how it’s the same limestone of Serralunga that spills over into Renzo’s vineyard, and it carries the same powerful Nebbiolo typicity that is the hallmark of those Baroli.

Renzo Castella’s grandfather, Severino, first established the family farm in Diano in the early 1900s, but, in the early 2000s, it was his grandson Renzo, an educated and deeply skilled winemaker, who pivoted production from fruit sales to estatebottled wines. In the two decades that followed, Renzo earned a reputation as one of Diano’s most knowledgeable, gifted, consistent, but also understated talents.

Carefully grown in an herbicide- and pesticide-free vineyard, this Nebbiolo is destemmed before going into large neutral oak “tini,” the traditional opentop oak fermentation vessel in Piedmont, where it ferments for approximately a week on skins. It’s then racked into stainless steel for malolactic fermentation and a further eight months aging.

This wine telegraphs Barolo’s structure and aromatics. Present and well-defined tannins, along with a reverberating spine of acidity, integrate with a classic core of dark cherry fruit, along with textbook rose, violet, and white pepper aromas and mineral undertones.