TASTED NON-BLIND
Nebbiolo is the classic ‘less-ismore’ style of wine. It’s perhaps no coincidence that today – when this is a style that’s very much in vogue – demand for young Nebbiolo has increased significantly, according to Piedmont’s Consorzio di Tutela Barolo, Barbaresco, Alba, Langhe &Dogliani.
Focusing on Piedmont’s main DOC Nebbiolo categories, consorzio figures reported in January 2024 show that annual production of Nebbiolo d’Alba has increased by more than a million bottles since 2016 (to 5.64m bottles in 2022). Over the same period, production of Langhe DOC wines (within which, it must be noted, there is primarily – but not only – Nebbiolo) grew from 15.4m to 19.5m bottles a year. By comparison, Barbera and Dolcetto volumes have declined, while DOCG Barolo (14.5m) and Barbaresco (5m) have increased more modestly, by about 500,000 and 200,000 bottles a year respectively.
The legislative classification is intricate: typically Italian! The two denominations of Nebbiolo d’Alba DOC and Langhe DOC Nebbiolo have differences in origin, ampelographic characteristics and ageing requirements. Nebbiolo d’Alba comes from a specific delimited area lying outside both the Barolo and Barbaresco DOCG regions; it must consist of 100% Nebbiolo and age for at least 12 months. By contrast, the area from which Langhe Nebbiolo can be sourced encompasses the wider Langhe and Roero region – an enormous extension of 96 communes, ranging from
