Barolo Mosconi DOCG 2020

The Barolo Mosconi DOCG 2020 is a dark, spice-driven Nebbiolo from Monforte d'Alba. On the nose, juniper, pepper and clove lead, joined by fresh rosemary, thyme and sage. Beneath lie roasted coffee, dark chocolate, black truffle, damp forest floor, dark tobacco leaf and a hint of liquorice. The fruit, with sweet cherry, blackberry and elderberry, waits in the background without ever pushing forward.

The Mosconi site is among the oldest MGA in Monforte d'Alba. Chiara Boschis farms 1.9 hectares there at 370 metres altitude, with full south-facing exposure. In 2020, spring began early, but June thunderstorms, September rainfall and cool nights slowed that early lead: a slow, regular ripening. Yield came in 30 to 40 percent below a normal year, with a late harvest on 2 October.

Pure Nebbiolo. Fermentation takes place entirely in stainless steel tanks, with frequent pump-overs and punch-downs. The wine then ages in small, lightly toasted French oak barriques with around 30 percent new wood, followed by a year in bottle. All of the estate's Barolo wines are vinified in the same way: the stage belongs to origin, not technique.

The wine builds with pressure and power. The tannin is fine-grained and present without ever becoming intrusive, leaving room for the fine mineral structure. The acidity carries the wine and holds the fruit back, keeping the spice at the fore. This interplay lingers for several minutes.

Tagliatelle with veal ragù and olives, braised ox cheeks with creamy polenta and mostarda, or, for a vegetarian option, salt-baked beetroot with raspberry vinaigrette and capers.

9,826 bottles and 278 magnums. Chiara Boschis was the first woman to own and run an estate in the Langhe; since 2010 she has led E.Pira & Figli together with her brother Giorgio. In the Cannubi vineyard she was the first to convert to organic farming and, with the Cannubi Bio project, had moved around 80 percent of that site's growers to do the same by 2015.