Nebbiolo Shines in Alto Piemonte, Carema & Valtellina

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | JUNE 01, 2023

It’s an exciting time to explore the small appellations that make up Northern Italy’s Alto Piemonte, Carema and Valtellina districts. There was a period, not too long ago, when many wines in these regions were either lackluster or muddled by overly pushed winemaking that obscured terroir. Outstanding wines were very much the exception rather than the rule. That has changed dramatically in recent years through a combination of dynamic young estates that have brought tremendous energy to the mix and older, more established names also raising the bar. Quite simply, I have never tasted more riveting, breathtaking wines from these appellations than I have over the last six months or so.

Alto Piemonte, Carema & Valtellina: An Overview

This report focuses on the Nebbiolos and Nebbiolo-based wines of Alto Piemonte, a collection of small appellations about a two-hour drive north of Barolo and just about an hour west of Milan. It’s a region I got to know well during the time I lived in Milan twenty years ago. Each of the main appellations has its own production guidelines, or disciplinare, that sets forth requirements on varietal blends and other technical specifications. Readers will find the main points in my previous articles, all of which are listed below for reference. Increasingly, producers bottle some of the blenders separately, which provides a great opportunity to discover the character of grapes that were originally intended to complement Nebbiolo.

I also include wines from Carema, which is technically separate but often grouped with Alto Piemonte, which makes sense for practical purposes given its location and the style of the wines. Valtellina lies to the east in Lombardia and is also a patchwork of several small appellations. Wines are at least 90% Nebbiolo, which is known as Chiavennasca in these parts.

Except for Sforzato, the Valtellina red made from air-dried Nebbiolo, the Nebbiolo and Nebbiolo-based wines of Northern Italy are generally characterized by lighter structure, brighter acids and a greater feeling of tension as compared to the wines of Barolo, Barbaresco and Roero. Despite these attributes, the Nebbiolos of Northern Italy have proven to age exceptionally well. The very best examples do what only Nebbiolo and Pinot Noir can do among red varieties: deliver tremendous flavor intensity without excess weight.