Azienda Agricola Icollirossi Langhe Nebbiolo Anphora Affinato In Anfora
Pairs with: Traditional Piedmontese tajarin pasta with a rich meat ragù or wild mushroom sauce, rosemary-crusted roasted lamb chops, an earthy black truffle risotto, or a rustic platter of medium-aged cheeses like Taleggio, Fontina, and soft Robiola.
Good for: Experiencing the majestic complexity of Piedmontese Nebbiolo without needing to wait a decade for stiff Barolo tannins to melt, introducing fans of natural wine to the clean elegance of clay aging, or anchoring a sophisticated, slow-cooked weekend dinner.
Grape: 100% Nebbiolo.
I am from: Langhe DOC, Piedmont, Italy.
The Story: Azienda Agricola Icollirossi is an estate deeply rooted in the fog-shrouded, rolling hills of Piedmont—a region globally revered as the sacred birthplace of Italy’s most aristocratic red wines. While the estate is highly celebrated for its classic, wood-aged blockbusters, the winemaking team launched a brilliant, low-intervention experiment with their "Anphora" bottling (labeled as Affinato in Anfora). They wanted to capture the noblest native grape of Italy, Nebbiolo, in its most transparent and unadulterated form. To do this, they bypassed traditional oak barrels entirely and looked thousands of years into the past, utilizing ancient-style terracotta clay amphorae for a patient 10-month refinement process. Clay is a magical vessel: its porous nature allows the wine to breathe and naturally polish Nebbiolo's famously fierce, enamel-gripping tannins, but it imparts absolutely zero wood flavors, vanilla sweetness, or smoky char. This allows a pure, unmasked snapshot of the Langhe terroir to take center stage.
Why You'll Love Me: It is luminous, wonderfully structured, and distinctively savory—a captivating red that masterfully balances Nebbiolo's signature alpine tension with an exceptionally smooth, approachable texture. In the glass, it pours a beautiful, translucent cherry-ruby color with the grape's hallmark brick-dust orange reflections along the rim. The nose is highly aromatic and deeply atmospheric, greeting you with an elegant bouquet of wild raspberries, sour red cherries, and dried hibiscus flowers, seamlessly interwoven with savory notes of fresh thyme, cracked white pepper, and an earthy whisper of warm clay. On the palate, it hits with a medium-bodied frame defined by a vibrant, food-friendly beam of natural acidity. Thanks to the amphora aging, the tannins are remarkably supple and rounded rather than harsh, allowing pure, crunchy red fruit and mineral-driven earthiness to glide effortlessly across the tongue into a long, bone-dry, and beautifully harmonious finish.
