Tasting notes

The 2019 Valmaggiore Nebbiolo d’Alba is on the side of more structured examples of this bottling, yet shows potential for approachability with a few years of patience.

Red cherry and raspberry perfumes mix with rose petal and licorice, framed by a hint of pepper. On the palate, it is mid-weight and nicely structured with red cherry and blackberry fruit.

It shows great sweetness in the mouth, but is never cloying - it is a wine that speaks softly yet forcefully.

The tannins are long, ripe and very structured but delicately framed, and its long, dry finish ends with a mineral note.

Ratings for the vintage 2019
VITAE 3 viti
Vinous 93 points
Wine Advocate 93 points
Wine Spectator 91 points

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Evolution of the vintage 2019

A wet late winter and early spring replenished the water tables. Budbreak was late March in the normal timeframe. Heat arrived after the flowering in late June for 10 days, which helped with the berry set. The rest of the vegetative cycle was cooler than normal except for another 10 days of moderate heat just before the veraison.

Intermittent rains throughout the summer refreshed the plants and ground cover vegetation.

A water bomb on the 5 September brought hail to some parts of the Barolo and Barbaresco areas, luckily, none of the Sandrone vineyards were affected, though the hail passed about 500 meters from the Baudana vineyard sites.

From the 6 September on conditions were perfect thru the rest of the harvest period, with warm, dry days and cool, refreshing nights. The vineyards that provide fruit for Valmaggiore and the Barbera shook off the excess rain, dried out in a few days, and continued their march toward optimum ripeness.

Barbera and Nebbiolo both benefit from these conditions as they allow for optimum balance between fruit and acid.

Harvest took place from September 3rd until 10th.