A Magical Year in Barolo
by Tom Wolf
As beloved as the great French appellations are among my colleagues, few wine regions have been as captivating over the last couple of years as Piemonte. As its name suggests, Piedmont (the English spelling) is the northwestern Italian region that is surrounded by mountains on three sides. With its dramatic, rolling hills and sweeping views of snowcapped peaks in the distance, this is one of Italy’s most picturesque regions, which is vastly underrated when it comes to tourism and the attention given to its singular wines.
Take the two producers below, for example. For years, Massimo Benevelli and Guido Porro have turned out gorgeous bottlings that, in terms of beauty, complexity, and age-worthiness, can reach the same heights as the great reds of the Rhône, Burgundy, and Bordeaux. And yet these humble vignerons don’t attract half of the attention received by their peers in those places. Vintage 2016 will be the turning point for these outstanding vignaioli. Do not miss what two world-class producers can do with perfect growing conditions.
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