MAGNUM Elio Sandri NEBBIOLO DOC 1.5L (2022) - Piemonte

THE GRAPE 
Nebbiolo. 

THE WINE
Tiny production, natural winemaking. Intense & complex on the nose with nutty base notes topped with aromas of liquorice candy, small ripe wild cherries and bitter cherry compote. Powerful, with a rush of black fruit embedded in a lovely, softly textured wine built on wonderfully ripe tannins. Strong and elegant, this tightens up slightly on the finish, gaining a hint of candied green fennel and sneaky length.

THE PAIRING
Those classic aromatic notes in Nebbiolo – rose, dark fruits and tar – need something funky in the cheese department- but nothing too overwhelming - creaminess and fat, wash rind cheese. Roasted root vegetables, as well as vegetarian pastas with a good glug of oil or butter and a generous pinch of salt.

THE WINEMAKER
Elio Sandri farms seven hectares around Cascina Disa, a farmhouse hidden in the vines above Perno, in Monforte d'Alba. His father bought the land in 1965; Elio has run it alone since 2000 and does very little to it on purpose — no chemicals, no certificates, grass cut twice a year, and a belief that the best way to work a vineyard is with your hands in your pockets. In the cellar it is native yeasts and seven big old casks, one for each vintage of Barolo waiting its turn: the wine spends years in wood, not months, and comes out only when he decides it is ready.