At this visit our host was Luciano Sandrone with his daughter Barbara. Sandrone manages the winemaking and vineyard management and Barbara manages the business portion. They purchased the Cannubi vineyard in 1978.His quote about Cannubi was “good wine comes from good vines”.1999 was the first vintage from the estate.Previous to the construction of the estate they were in the village of Barolo. Their production is 100K bottles (over 8300 cases); 65-70% of their grapes are owned by them.They produce Dolcetto, Barbera, Nebbiolo, Barolo (2 cru – Le Vigne, Cannubi Boschis). Barolo Le Vigne is blended together from the various casks right before bottling. Another quote on traditional vs. modern producers – “We look at tradition but are sensitive to innovation” A very PC comment. All wines are non-filtered except for the Dolcetto.The facility uses gravity only, no pumping and no added yeasts (they use the existing yeasts).They vinify each plot of land separately and blend them together.Sandrone believes that by using the natural yeasts the wine will most represent the typicity of the grapes.Their barrels are large and French oak, toasted inside. The Dolcetto is done in stainless only.Their wines have a consistent velvety texture across the varietals. 30% of the wines are exported to the USA, 30% to Italy and 40% to the rest of the world.They only ship in November, December and January (here what a novel concept...). Some comments on this facility: It was the cleanest winery I've ever seen anywhere. You could eat off of the floor. Sandrone has amazing attention to detail and every detail of the winery and visit was perfect to the "nth" degree. Also I have never seen such security at any winery. Sandrone took us downstairs to see his cooling facility. This was underground and appeared to be several football fields long. Again I've never seen anything like it. He said something about being able to completely cool and replace the air in the facility in less than 15 minutes. Winemaking or biotechnology? I really wasn't sure. I think we were speechless at that point. The wines had great texture and concentration. The 2003 Barolo was one of the better 2003s we tasted. In all one of my favorite producers. 2005 Luciano Sandrone Nebbiolo d'Alba Valmaggiore - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Nebbiolo d'Alba (5/11/2007)
Tasted at the winery; Dark ruby in color with pomegranate, strawberry and spice aromas and flavors. The middle was spicy and rich with a touch of herbs on the finish. Again balanced. (89 pts.)
2005 Luciano Sandrone Barbera d'Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d'Alba (5/11/2007)
Tasted at the winery; To be released Fall 07; Dark, saturated purple in color with rich spice on the nose. The flavors included a deep currant flavors and spices. Very balanced with a very long finish. Sandrone thought this was a good Barbera. €18E from the winery. (89 pts.) 2003 Luciano Sandrone Barolo Cannubi Boschis - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (5/11/2007)
Dark, saturated ruby in color; Brown sugar and maple syrup on the nose; This was fairly oaky throughout with prevalent oak on the finish. Due to the heat these grapes were harvested early. Though it was one of the better 2003 Barolos that we tasted it probably won’t come close to the 2001. €70 from the winery; 14.3% alcohol. (91 pts.) I will post the photos of this visit very soon.
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