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  • Country ranking ?

    123
  • Producer ranking ?

    26
  • Decanting time

    4h
  • When to drink

    2020-2035

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The Story

Barolo Le Vigne is often a dark and impenetrable wine in its youth. With proper cellaring, this wine reveals more classic Barolo aspects of black cherries, tar, violets and roses. This wine can outlive the Cannubi Boschis bottling in great years: Le Vigne shows more tannins than its brother and possesses amazing freshness and length.

Le Vigne is a wine created from four different Nebbiolo vineyards, each of which brings its own contribution. This union generates an exceptionally complex wine that is round and harmonious on the palate, with fruity and spicy notes, and this approach of blending together plots is in fact the traditional one in Barolo.

 

The first vineyard, Vignane, is situated in the historical part of the Barolo appellation and shares many characteristics with Cannubi but does not possess the latter's aromatic complexity.  The wines show softness and elegance, and a distinct mid-palate mouthfeel that enhances the sense of richness when combined with other, more austere grapes.  The second vineyard, Merli, is located in the Novello part of the appellation, with the Sandrone section in a south-southwest facing bowl that captures the afternoon light perfectly.  The wines made from here are earthy and robust but with good aromatic complexity. The third vineyard, Baudana, is located in Serralunga d'Alba. The 2011 vintage marks the first time that Luciano Sandrone has included fruit from a fourth vineyard, Villero, a 3.7 acre plot in Castiglione Falletto, which they recently acquired via a long-term lease.

 

Each vineyard is vinified separately, and after destemming and light crushing, the must is covered with CO2 for a gentle warm maceration of approximately a day.  Alcoholic fermentation begins about 24-36 hours later from native yeasts.  A gentle maceration takes place in upright open-top steel tanks for the first 9-15 days of alcoholic fermentation.  Immediately after alcoholic fermentation, which takes 28-30 days, malolactic fermentation takes place in 500 liter French oak casks.  The wine is aged in these casks for 24 months, followed by 18 months bottle aging.  Around 1,300 cases are produced in a typical vintage.

 

Ancient art. Le Vigne Barolo interprets the ancient handed-down wisdom and tradition of Langhe and Barolo of assembling the Nebbiolo grapes from various vineyards. We interpret this historic practice by working only with indigenous yeasts and by keeping the grapes of each vineyard separated during the fermentation and wood ageing, rather than combining them during fermentation.

A perfect diagonal. We meticulously selected four vineyards so as to bring out all the characteristics of the Barolo area. The vineyards of Baudana in Serralunga d'Alba, Villero in Castiglione Falletto, Vignane in Barolo and Merli in Novello form a perfect diagonal across the area which encompasses different terrains: light and sandy, more compact and deep, and all at different altitudes and exposures.

Every year is a new discovery.Harvested, vinified and aged separately, only the best lots are mixed together during the assemblage so as to express the uniqueness of the vineyards and enhance the particularities of each vintage.

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Wine Information

From the climatic point of view, 2008 took us back to the Seventies with very rainy spring and summer which made the management of the vineyards decidedly difficult. Only thanks to the generous months of August, September and October the grapes were able to complete the ripening process in the best manner. The vintage 2008 undoubtedly rewarded the zones best suited to the cultivation of vines, and particularly those who invested in meticulous vine cultivation operations just at the right time.

Harvest
October 11-24

Vinification
Each vineyard was vinified separately. After destemming and light crushing, must is "sealed" with CO2 for gentle warm maceration of approximately a day. Alcoholic fermentation begins about 24-36 hours later from native wild yeasts only.

Maceration:
Gentle maceration in upright open-top steel tanks for the first 7-15 days of the alcoholic fermentation

Malo-lactic Fermentation:
Until the end of December 2008, immediately after alcoholic fermentation in French oak casks with a capacity of 500l, 25% were new.

Alcoholic Fermentation: 28 days in steel
Aging:
24 months in French oak tonneaux of 500 liter (25% new), followed by 18 months in bottle.

Blending: During the summer of 2010, once the potential and quality of every single batch of wine was checked.
Bottling date: February 2011
Drink from: 2016
Drink to: 2030

Production
Bottles: 16000
Magnums: 600
Double Magnums :60

Analytical parameters
Alcohol content: 14.55%
Total acidity: 5.8 g/l
PH: 3.48
Net extract: 34 g/l

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Tasting note

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Written Notes

Luciano Sandrone's 2008 Barolo Le Vigne is a wine of breathtaking textural finesse and elegance. Nothing really stands out, so phenomenal is the wine's balance and sense of harmony. This is the kind of wine that is easy to overlook because it doesn't ask for attention and isn't showy. Instead, everything is simply in the right place. The finest, most silky of tannins support a core of sweet red berries, flowers, mint and spices, all of which are woven together with total refinement. The eternal, nuanced finish bodes very well for the future. This is a dazzling effort from Luciano and Luca Sandrone. There is little question that the blending of fruit from several sites was a huge advantage in 2008.

  • 97p

On the nose, an ethereal character of fruity notes of small- berry jam, cherry preserved in spirits, and dried apricot prevails; accompanied by floral sensations such as dried roses. Then spices such as pepper and vanilla emerge, followed by hints of dried mushrooms, leather and white truffles. The flavor is complex, the balanced alcohol gives warmth and fullness of structure, while fresh acidity and smooth tannin show a velvety character.

  • 93p
The 1999 harvest was a perfect complement to the great Barolo vintages of the 1990s. An excellent vintage despite humidity in August that caused some rot problems. Sandrone had a marvellous year. Luciano Sandrone is a true grape grower guarding his vines’ health and maximising grape quality. In the cellar he combines tradition with innovation. His wines are true terroir wines with balanced use of French oak and fairly short maceration periods. Sandrone's Le Vigne is a blend from several vineyards. Elegant nose of perfume, cherries and boysenberries. Layers of elegant fruitiness backed up by a touch of spicy oak. Velvelty mouthfeel with a great tannic grip. Superb intensity and finesse which are complemented by the wine’s mineral character. Starting to show its full potential but will peak after a decade. Sandrones are hard to find, but worthwhile the search!
  • 96p
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Origin

Piedmont, Piedmont
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