Italy’s Alto-Piemonte is hands down one of our favorite “little known” wine regions. We’re not alone though, as the past decade has seen renewed interest in this cluster of villages nestled high in the Alpine foothills around the Sessia River Valley. Generations ago this region was more renowned for its Nebbiolo based wines than the Langhe (home of Barolo and Barbaresco), and now a new generation has returned to help rejuvenate and restore these awe inspiring vineyards. Andrea Mosca is one of those pioneers, and his now 15 year old winemaking adventure, named “Noah,” is producing exciting, terroir focused wines that are as fun to drink as they are to make. His “NoahRosso” is an über fresh breath-of-Alpine-air red that has tons of Nebbiolo aromatics but without the huge tannins that require years of aging. This beauty is a pop and pour best in class champion!
Based in the village of Brusnengo, Noah is now one of the small handful of commercial labels in Bramaterra, which neighbors Gattinara and is one of the lesser-known of the DOC zones clustered in Piedmont’s Sesia River Valley. The Sesia flows down from Monte Rosa, a towering Alpine mountain, and eventually into the Pò south of Novara, and while there are some ‘alluvial’ soils in the region it is ultimately an amalgam of glacial, volcanic, and river-borne soil types. In 2010 Andrea Mosca left a successful career as an architect and purchased three hectares of vineyards in Brusnengo, a small hamlet in the commune of Bramaterra. Andrea is among a small handful of talented and dedicated grape growers to return to their roots in these Alpine foothills, after previous generations generally left the region to pursue better economic opportunities in Torino, Milano and beyond. The winery is named for Andrea’s son, Francesco Noah.
Andrea uses his young vines of Nebbiolo that do not go into the Bramaterra bottling, as well as a prized parcel of old vines Croatina and Vespolina to make this younger, fresher expression of Sessia valley terroir. Fermented in steel tanks with a short, 10 day maceration, it is then aged for one year in large, Slavonia oak casks. The goal is to make a joyful, lip smacking wine that is also complex and terroir transparent. Goal accomplished!
Serve the NoahRosso at a cool cellar temperature in a Burgundy stem. It’s a medium ruby with garnet and orange reflections, with an intriguing aromatic profile that captures both the volcanic soil character and the cool-climate, sub-Alpine surroundings. Red and black cherry, currant, cranberry, and red apple share the air with scents of forest floor, tobacco, leather, ash, and iron shavings. The palate is fresh and exuberant, with a medium to medium-light body, silky red fruits, and a long, mineral flecked finish. During the winter I’d pair this with a warming, stick to your ribs meal like the below recipe for chicken parmesan meatballs and polenta, but if you can keep a few bottles around for when the weather warms this a perfect red to serve with a chill next to grilled kabobs, burgers, or homemade pizza (duh!).
