Nebbiolo d'Alba Santa Rosalia, Brezza

A pale, perfumed wine with notes of berried fruit with characteristic hints of roses, violets and subtle earthy, savoury and leather notes. 

Producer Note

The Brezza family own 12.5 hectares of vines split between the commune of Barolo (in Cannubi, Castellero and Sarmassa), the two-hectare Santa Rosalia estate just outside the Barolo DOCG zone between Diano d’Alba and the town of Alba itself, and two further plots in Monforte d’Alba and Novello. Throughout the vineyards, the family practices an environmentally friendly approach to viticulture and the estate has been certified organic since the 2015 vintage. In the cellar, winemaker Enzo Brezza follows a traditional approach with minimal intervention. In order to maintain freshness and purity, many of the wines are bottled with glass Vinolok closures.

Vineyard

The grapes come from a 1.2 hectare single vineyard called Vigna Santa Rosalia, which was planted in 2004. Located around the town of Alba, it has been organically farmed since 2010. Situated at 300 metres’ elevation, the vines are planted at a density of 4,000 vines per hectare and have a westerly orientation, capturing the afternoon sunshine. The Nebbiolo vines are the Lampia and Michet clones and are grown on rootstocks K5BB and 420A. Guyot pruned and espalier trained, the vines are carefully cultivated by hand, with green harvesting and thinning taking place to control yields and increase the concentration of flavour in the grapes. Green manure is employed to enhance the vitality of the soil and the cuttings from the grass cover crops are left on the soil, to help increase the nutrient value. In accordance with organic viticulture, copper and sulphur are used when necessary; herbicides and pesticides are not employed. Harvest takes place by hand.

Winemaking

This wine was made organically with minimal sulphur. The must was fermented for six to eight days, followed by maceration to extract flavours and colour. The wine was maintained at 18 to 20°C where it underwent malolactic conversion. The wine was then transferred to large Slavonian oak barrels, where it matured for 12 months. The wine was bottled and cellared for one year prior to release. 

Tasting Note

Characteristically garnet red with orange nuances, this delicious wine offers perfumed aromas of roses, violets and berried fruit, underpinned by subtle earthy notes. Elegant with velvety tannins and a long, persistent finish.

Grape

Nebbiolo 100%