Ferdinando Principiano 2021 Nebbiolo Langhe
Ferdinando Principiano 2021 Nebbiolo Langhe
750ml bottle
13.5% abv
FARMING: No synthetic chemical herbicides, fungicides, fertilizers or pesticides. Copper and sulphur treatments used sparingly.
VINEYARD: 3.5 Ha
ALTITUDE: from 300 m / 984 ft to 500 m / 1,641 ft SOILS: clay and limestone marls (Serravallian)
VARIETIES: 100% Nebbiolo (mainly Lampia clone and a bit of Michet)
VINE AGE: Ranging from 10 to 50 years old VINE TRAINING: Guyot
HARVEST DATE: From the end of September through the beginning of October
YEASTS: Spontaneous fermentation with ambient yeast
FERMENTATION & ÉLEVAGE: 14 days in stainless steel vats; elevage for 6-8 months in stainless steel.
SULPHUR: 20 mg/L added during the harvest, and 20 mg/L added at the completion of vinification
ANNUAL PRODUCTION: 1,700 cases
Ferdinando Principiano is producing world-class elegant and natural wines, with a watermark of traditional Barolo terroir. Ferdinando started in 1993, with 7 hectares from his father and grandfather; he now owns and farms 21 hectares. All farming is uncertified organic, but he goes way beyond the normal organic practices and is obsessed with preserving or creating the conditions for biodiversity in and around his vineyards. This includes buying adjacent forests, and creating a pond at the base of his Boscareto cru that acts as a home for migratory birds and a chorus of frogs. He works the vineyards by hand, including the use of a scythe. All cellar work is low intervention.
Principiano’s Langhe Nebbiolo follows the house style: aromatic natural wines with a watermark of traditional Barolo Serralunga terroir. Most Langhe Nebbiolo’s are more fruit forward, but Principiano’s is aromatics-forward, with a lovely open-knit nose of flowers, red fruits, and peach. People swoon over Nebbiolo for all kinds of reasons, , but its ability to be so perfume-y is one reason you hear the most.
Grapes come from declassified Barolo cru vineyards of Montagliato, Le Coste, and Boscareto, picked just a tad earlier. Spontaneous fermentation in steel (a rarity in Barolo nowadays), with maceration on skins for 14 days; and then a 6-8 month elevage in steel tanks. 40 mg/ l total SO2 was added only after fermentation, while the wine was racked to botti grandi, and right before being bottled.