Langhe Nebbiolo, Cantina Rizzi 2020

The 2020 Langhe Nebbiolo from Enrico Dellapiana is crafted from the younger vines the family has in the township of Treiso, with the vines planted between 1995 and 2015. The wine is fermented in stainless steel and aged in Slavonian oak botti for a year prior to bottling. The 2020 version comes in at en even fourteen percent octane and offers up a beautiful, red fruity nose of cherries, blood orange, gamebird, rose petals, lovely spice tones, a complex base of chalky soil tones and a touch of cedar. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied, tangy and beautifully transparent in personality, with a lovely core of red fruit, superb mineral undertow, buried tannins and a long, complex and impeccably balanced finish. This shows its Barbaresco pedigree and will be a superb drink with a few years bottle age. A great, great value! 2027-2045+

A terrific value option, the Rizzi 2020 Langhe Nebbiolo has a little spice, a little ripe fruit and a lot of easy-drinking personality. It shows cherry, sweet peach and candied licorice. It feels smooth and silky on the finish, making it a good choice for a creamy spaghetti cacio e pepe.

Pale garnet in the glass, the nose on the Langhe is quintessential Nebbiolo - hints of dried flowers, tobacco and bright red fruits come together in a fragrant yet savoury profile. This follows on the palate, with the gentle - for Nebbiolo - tannins permitting some real approachability. Fine acids, deeply savoury fruit at the core and a high toned complexity make this a wine you keep coming back to. Persistent tannins and long, fine fruit on the finish indicate the ageing potential, but there is no need to wait - drink over the coming decade or more.