‘Ascheri’ Barolo

Older vines, higher altitude, lower yields and a bit of new wood – that is the difference between this and the commune bottling. The result is noticeable and appreciable. This one hectare block was planted in 1969 at 1,121 feet in elevation. The winemaking and elevage are essentially the same with a couple of new barriques being tossed into the mix with the large barrels and neutral barriques. The soil composition is dense calcareous clay, which is unusual given its higher elevation, and lacks the sandy compounds often found in La Morra that gives the perfume and elegance. This wine, with its elegant power, has more in line with the Barolo commune than traditional La Morra.

The grapes were hand-harvested in mid-October and fully-destemmed. The fermentations were carried out in open-top stainless-steel tanks with ambient yeast only. The first ten days on skins saw frequent manual punchdowns and then an additional five to seven weeks on skins once the cap submerged. After a total of 60 days on skins the wine was pressed primarily to old barriques (with 15% new for good measure) for 12 months. Malolactic fermentation carried out naturally in the spring. The wine was then moved to a large cask for the following year and a half. After 30 total months of maturation, the wine was racked to tank to settle naturally and bottled without fining or filtration and just a small addition of sulfur.