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2021 Valli Ossolane Nebbiolo Superiore “Prünent Diecibrente”
Cantine Garrone
Up near the Italian-Swiss border, Alto Piemonte is on a tear. A white wine grower from this off-the-beaten-path region was my favorite wine discovery of 2024, and in 2025, the red-wine geniuses at Cantine Garrone have shipped us some of the most revelatory bottles of the year so far. In the high-elevation Valli Ossolane, once a trading route between Switzerland and Italy, the cooler air and region’s unique toppia vine-training combine to yield Nebbiolo—or Prünent, as it is known locally—that is extraordinarily high-toned, silky, and graceful. Made from vines planted in 1933 and aged the longest of the Garrones’ reds, this is the pinnacle of the family’s world-class Nebbioli. Don’t miss it!
—Tom Wolf
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2021 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Prünent (Nebbiolo) |
Appellation: | Valli Ossolane |
Country: | Italy |
Region: | Piedmont |
Producer: | Cantine Garrone |
Winemaker: | Piermario, Roberto, Marco and Matteo Garrone |
Vineyard: | Planted in 1933; .5 ha |
Soil: | Sandy loam, gneiss, clay |
Aging: | Aged for 24 months in 20HL neutral French oak botti |
Farming: | Sustainable |
Alcohol: | 13.5% |
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About The Producer
Cantine Garrone
Cantine Garrone was founded in 1921 by Luigi Garrone in Piemonte’s northernmost wine appellation, Val d’Ossola. Even now, this is one of the most wild and inaccessible parts of Piemonte, where many of the vines cling to mountainsides at incredibly steep inclines. Today, Luigi’s grandsons, Piermario and Roberto, run the winery alongside Roberto’s two sons, Marco and Matteo. The family has made it their life’s purpose to preserve and elevate the wines of Val d’Ossola, focusing in particular on Prünent, commonly understood to be the oldest existing clone of Nebbiolo. In the 1990s, they launched an effort to assist local farmers who were struggling to produce enough grapes for any viable commercial activity. They work with more than forty growers to combine their efforts and as a result, have saved the local winemaking tradition from certain extinction. In total, the family owns 3.5 hectares of vineyard and manages another 7.5 through this community of forty growers.
About The Region
Piedmont
Kermit’s love affair with the great reds of Piemonte dates back to the early days of his career: the very first container he imported from Italy, in fact, featured legendary 1971 and 1974 Barolos from Vietti and Aldo Conterno. Regular visits since then have seen our portfolio grow to now twelve Piemontesi estates, with a strong focus on the rolling hills of the Langhe.
Nebbiolo rules these majestic, vine-covered marl slopes, giving Italy’s most mystifyingly complex, nuanced, and age-worthy reds. When crafted via traditional production methods—long macerations and extensive aging in enormous oak botti—the powerful, yet incredibly refined Barolos and Barbarescos provide haunting aromatics of tar, raspberry, incense, tea, roses, and more. At times austere in their youth but well worth the wait, they pair beautifully with the hearty local cuisine starring veal in many forms, braised beef, pastas like tajarin and agnolotti, and of course, Alba’s famous white truffles.
Surrounded by mountains on three sides, Piemonte’s climate is continental, with baking hot summers and cold winters. Nebbiolo is only part of the story here: juicy, fruity Barberas and Dolcettos represent the bread and butter throughout the region, and other native grapes like Freisa, Croatina, and the white Arneis are also noteworthy. Value abounds in the Monferrato, while Alto Piemonte also has its share of thrills to provide.
Every corner of Piemonte is rich with tradition, especially when wine is concerned. It’s no wonder we have been singing the region’s praises for over forty years.
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Where the newsletter started

Where the newsletter started
Every three or four months I would send my clients a cheaply made list of my inventory, but it began to dawn on me that business did not pick up afterwards. It occurred to me that my clientele might not know what Château Grillet is, either. One month in 1974 I had an especially esoteric collection of wines arriving, so I decided to put a short explanation about each wine into my price list, to try and let my clients know what to expect when they uncorked a bottle. The day after I mailed that brochure, people showed up at the shop, and that is how these little propaganda pieces for fine wine were born.—Kermit Lynch