While Piedmont’s Barolo region is used to great press, long considered one of the world’s classic appellations and home to the longest-lived Nebbiolo wines, there’s a new movement happening further north in Alto Piemonte that has the industry abuzz.
Whether it’s A16’s Shelly Lindgren focusing on Alto Piemonte as the original source of great Nebbiolo in her new book Italian Wine, or the critics from Vinous devoting more time to reviewing the region’s small production wines, it seems like everyone is talking about two things:
Incredible wines. Incredible prices.
Critic Antonio Galloni recently gushed about the wines of Boniperti, writing: “This is a beautiful set of wines. The small estate encompasses just 4.5 hectares of vineyards in three small blocks, two in the Colline Novaresi and one in Fara. The Fara Barton is the top wine. It emerges from a relatively warm site that is also one of the earliest to ripen in the appellation. It sees as much as a month on the skins and is aged in cask.”
But the key sentence from Galloni’s review was this: “Boniperti's entry-level offerings are every bit as compelling as the top selection.”
So how are the inexpensive wines so darn good?
As Lindgren spells out in her book, Alto Piemonte was the home of Italian nebbiolo until economic woes coupled with diseases in the vineyards caused a downturn in production during the 19th century. By the middle of the 20th century, the region was almost forgotten by growers who had fled due to poor weather conditions and a piddling economy. Just forty years ago, there were only three wine producers left in the entire region!
But in 2024, Alto Piemonte is in the middle of a new renaissance with growers unlocking the power of these ancient vineyard sites and harnessing that potential into exciting wines at incredible prices. Because the region is underappreciated and largely misunderstood, few understand that these vineyards were once some of the greatest in Europe.
With Antonio Galloni calling it "one of the most glorious, under the radar regions in the world" and bestowing a number of outstanding scores to producers like Boniperti, we're hoping the region starts to get the attention it deserves. Not only that, Galloni had high praise for Cristiano Garella, the winemaker for Boniperti, calling him “the leading figure of the current generation.”
If you’re curious as to the quality of these wines, look no further for outstanding Italian quality at prices you can afford.
2021 Boniperti Vignaioli Carlin Nebbiolo $25.99
93 POINTS: VINOUS - The 2022 Nebbiolo Carlin is an exuberant, fruity wine endowed with tons of charm. Succulent red cherry fruit, cinnamon, orange peel and spice fill out the layers nicely. This, too, is beautifully done—a gem.
2019 Boniperti Vignaioli Favolalunga Vespolina $22.99
92 POINTS: VINOUS - The 2019 Favolalunga is laced with bright red berry fruit, wild flowers and spice. This fruity, aromatic Vespolina is a real charmer. The purity of the flavors is compelling.
2020 Boniperti Vignaioli Fara Barton Nebbiolo $41.9
94 POINTS: VINOUS - The 2020 Fara Barton, Boniperti’s top wine, is terrific. Dark and layered, the 2020 offers up tons of Nebbiolo character. Macerated dark cherry, menthol, licorice, spice and a host of balsamic inflections build in the glass. The 2020 spent 30 days on the skins and matured for 14 months in 22HL casks. It’s a gorgeous, classy, elegant wine that can be enjoyed with minimal cellaring.
