Little in the wine world makes our hearts flutter like aged Nebbiolo. Little makes our hearts sink like the prices we normally have to pay to experience it. But today, Bruno Giacometti has the cure for our ills. His 2015 Canavese Nebbiolo is in its sweet spot at nearly a decade of age, singing with a pitch-perfect balance of lifted fruit, delicate floral tones, and rumbling, earthy savor. And at $45 a bottle, it costs less than most “affordable” current release Barolo. This is seriously next level Nebbiolo, it just happens to hail from outside the more famous Langhe region. Bruno Giacometti is one of those quiet heroes the Italian wine scene seems full of–a passionate organic farmer fighting for his special corner of the country the best way he knows how: by making beautiful wines through unending diligence, unimpeachable craftsmanship, and incredible patience. Every Italian wine lover should be going deep on this. That such a shining example of Piedemontese brilliance is so affordable is merely the cherry on top.

Bruno Giacometti is located in the Canavese subzone of Piedmont. This is something like the halfway point between the Langhe hills where Barolo and Barbaresco are located and “Alto Piemonte,” where you find Ghemme and Gattinara. Canavese bears a strong resemblance to these latter appellations, its more northerly climes and acidic soils producing a tense and elegant style of Nebbiolo. This is a sub-alpine mesoclimate, the soils in the Nebbiolo vineyards dominated by soils derived from Mont Blanc itself. And it’s reflected in the vineyards. Bruno’s Nebbiolo holdings consist not just of clones from the Langhe, but also of the highly sought after Picotendro clone that’s native to Vall