Monte Maletto Canavese 2021 Nebbiolo Il Battito del Maletto

Pairs with: Wild mushroom risotto

Good for: Long and lively conversations over dinner

Grape: Nebbiolo

I am from: Carema, Piedmont, Italy

The Story: Gian Marco Viano is a young producer who has helped breath new life back into one of Italy’s most important sites, Carema. Gian Marco’s labels have a painting of the famous journalist Mario Soldati who was in love with Carema calling it Italy’s best wine and always noted how you tasted sun and rock from these Nebbiolo’s. This is the key to this village that forms a bowl in the mountainside, right on the border with Valle d’Aosta. The vineyards make their way around what at this point are abandoned homes or garages at the top of towm and wind up scary pathways all the way up the mountain. The vineyards are terraced and canopy trained to cement pillars that are a trademark of this village.

Mario Soldati called the wines of Carema some of Italy’s best in the 50s and 60s and said you could taste “sole e roccia” Sun and rock, which is so important as the sun warms the terraces built of rock during the day and that warm air then filters out into the vineyard overnight helping to produce wines of great structure while at the same time being uniquely Alpine in nature.

Why You'll Love Me: This is quintessential Nebbiolo from this region: vibrant and incredibly fresh with crunchy red fruits and beautiful tension. It’s a wine you feel like you could just keep drinking with our without food. It’s a testament to Nebbiolo but made in a style that celebrates this truly stunning corner of Piedmont.