Colombera & Garella ‘Cascina Cottignano’ Bramaterra Rosso 2019
Location:
Winemakers: Cristiano Garella & Giacomo Colombera
Grapes: 80% Nebbiolo, 10% Croatina, 10% Vespolina
Soil: Reddish-brown porphyritic sand from an ancient volcano
Winemaking: Organic farming. Native yeast fermentation. Destemming and soft crushing followed by fermentation without temperature control. Nebbiolo ferments separately in concrete tanks, Croatina and Vespolina co-ferment in stainless steel vats. 40 days of skin contact for Nebbiolo, 20 days for Croatina and Vespolina. After fermentation, the vats are blended in a cement tank of 70 HL for about 6 months. Then Elevage in old big oak barrels of 60 hl for 2 years.
2019 Vintage: As in Langhe, a monumental vintage in this are for restrained but age worthy wines. As Giacomo reports: “Quite rainy spring, no too warm summer and fresh September. Slowly ripening and a good controlled harvest, in the time and days that were considered as the right ones without being forced by the climate. Low Ph and high acidity at the time of the harvest. Very strong potential of aging for this vintage. Similar to 2016.
From the Importer PortoVino: 300 million years ago, a volcano created the raw material for seven tiny but geographically complex appellations collectively known as Alto Piemonte, an area about two hours northeast of Barolo and Barbaresco, literally at the ‘foot’ of the Alps. After years of abandon, this once great bastion of Italian wines is now being revitalized by a few key producers. This is an area to explore, for the glory that’s Nebbiolo, and also the unique volcanic soils, which makes more finely etched, and lower alcohol, wines that neighboring Barolo and Barolo. Colombera & Garella’s winery and vineyards in the Bramaterra and Lessona appellations.
Cristiano Garella, native alto piemonte wünderkind, is one of the master-keys of the area. He’s helping wineries here appreciate and reinvest in the vineyards and cantine. Colombera & Garella, as the name suggests, is his most intimate contribution among the many wineries he collaborates with. The Colombera part is Giacomo Colombera, Cristiano’s long-time friend, and Carlo Colombera (Giacomo’s father), who’s been growing grapes in the area since the early 1990s.
At 350-400 meters, Bramaterra and Lessona’s soils are distinctly acidic, quite different from Barolo and Barbaresco’s basic soils. These acidic soils produce wine with lower alcohol than you find nowadays in the Langhe; there’s also a tell tale salty-minerality in both Lessona and Bramaterra.
Bramaterra’s volcanic soil is composed of crumbly red-brown rocks made from porphyritic sand crystals. The resulting wines have a chiseled fruit, and a deep salty/savoury minerality, and classic ferrous notes. There’s something rough hewn about the minerailty in these wines, but the tannis are noble Nebbiolo, especially in Cristiano’s hands.
Lessona still has acidic soil as well, but here you see a marine sand that’s yellow and red-ochre in color. Lessona’s is often a paler red, with a more delicate fruit.
Colombera & Garella continue to make stand our wines, and there’s rebuilding of their cellar in 2019 has just made the wines that much more precise and scintillating. If you’re interested in Alto Piemonte, or a more elegant Nebbiolo than the Langhe offers, this is a property to put on your check list.
Location:
Winemakers: Cristiano Garella & Giacomo Colombera
Grapes: 80% Nebbiolo, 10% Croatina, 10% Vespolina
Soil: Reddish-brown porphyritic sand from an ancient volcano
Winemaking: Organic farming. Native yeast fermentation. Destemming and soft crushing followed by fermentation without temperature control. Nebbiolo ferments separately in concrete tanks, Croatina and Vespolina co-ferment in stainless steel vats. 40 days of skin contact for Nebbiolo, 20 days for Croatina and Vespolina. After fermentation, the vats are blended in a cement tank of 70 HL for about 6 months. Then Elevage in old big oak barrels of 60 hl for 2 years.
2019 Vintage: As in Langhe, a monumental vintage in this are for restrained but age worthy wines. As Giacomo reports: “Quite rainy spring, no too warm summer and fresh September. Slowly ripening and a good controlled harvest, in the time and days that were considered as the right ones without being forced by the climate. Low Ph and high acidity at the time of the harvest. Very strong potential of aging for this vintage. Similar to 2016.
From the Importer PortoVino: 300 million years ago, a volcano created the raw material for seven tiny but geographically complex appellations collectively known as Alto Piemonte, an area about two hours northeast of Barolo and Barbaresco, literally at the ‘foot’ of the Alps. After years of abandon, this once great bastion of Italian wines is now being revitalized by a few key producers. This is an area to explore, for the glory that’s Nebbiolo, and also the unique volcanic soils, which makes more finely etched, and lower alcohol, wines that neighboring Barolo and Barolo. Colombera & Garella’s winery and vineyards in the Bramaterra and Lessona appellations.
Cristiano Garella, native alto piemonte wünderkind, is one of the master-keys of the area. He’s helping wineries here appreciate and reinvest in the vineyards and cantine. Colombera & Garella, as the name suggests, is his most intimate contribution among the many wineries he collaborates with. The Colombera part is Giacomo Colombera, Cristiano’s long-time friend, and Carlo Colombera (Giacomo’s father), who’s been growing grapes in the area since the early 1990s.
At 350-400 meters, Bramaterra and Lessona’s soils are distinctly acidic, quite different from Barolo and Barbaresco’s basic soils. These acidic soils produce wine with lower alcohol than you find nowadays in the Langhe; there’s also a tell tale salty-minerality in both Lessona and Bramaterra.
Bramaterra’s volcanic soil is composed of crumbly red-brown rocks made from porphyritic sand crystals. The resulting wines have a chiseled fruit, and a deep salty/savoury minerality, and classic ferrous notes. There’s something rough hewn about the minerailty in these wines, but the tannis are noble Nebbiolo, especially in Cristiano’s hands.
Lessona still has acidic soil as well, but here you see a marine sand that’s yellow and red-ochre in color. Lessona’s is often a paler red, with a more delicate fruit.
Colombera & Garella continue to make stand our wines, and there’s rebuilding of their cellar in 2019 has just made the wines that much more precise and scintillating. If you’re interested in Alto Piemonte, or a more elegant Nebbiolo than the Langhe offers, this is a property to put on your check list.
Location:
Winemakers: Cristiano Garella & Giacomo Colombera
Grapes: 80% Nebbiolo, 10% Croatina, 10% Vespolina
Soil: Reddish-brown porphyritic sand from an ancient volcano
Winemaking: Organic farming. Native yeast fermentation. Destemming and soft crushing followed by fermentation without temperature control. Nebbiolo ferments separately in concrete tanks, Croatina and Vespolina co-ferment in stainless steel vats. 40 days of skin contact for Nebbiolo, 20 days for Croatina and Vespolina. After fermentation, the vats are blended in a cement tank of 70 HL for about 6 months. Then Elevage in old big oak barrels of 60 hl for 2 years.
2019 Vintage: As in Langhe, a monumental vintage in this are for restrained but age worthy wines. As Giacomo reports: “Quite rainy spring, no too warm summer and fresh September. Slowly ripening and a good controlled harvest, in the time and days that were considered as the right ones without being forced by the climate. Low Ph and high acidity at the time of the harvest. Very strong potential of aging for this vintage. Similar to 2016.
From the Importer PortoVino: 300 million years ago, a volcano created the raw material for seven tiny but geographically complex appellations collectively known as Alto Piemonte, an area about two hours northeast of Barolo and Barbaresco, literally at the ‘foot’ of the Alps. After years of abandon, this once great bastion of Italian wines is now being revitalized by a few key producers. This is an area to explore, for the glory that’s Nebbiolo, and also the unique volcanic soils, which makes more finely etched, and lower alcohol, wines that neighboring Barolo and Barolo. Colombera & Garella’s winery and vineyards in the Bramaterra and Lessona appellations.
Cristiano Garella, native alto piemonte wünderkind, is one of the master-keys of the area. He’s helping wineries here appreciate and reinvest in the vineyards and cantine. Colombera & Garella, as the name suggests, is his most intimate contribution among the many wineries he collaborates with. The Colombera part is Giacomo Colombera, Cristiano’s long-time friend, and Carlo Colombera (Giacomo’s father), who’s been growing grapes in the area since the early 1990s.
At 350-400 meters, Bramaterra and Lessona’s soils are distinctly acidic, quite different from Barolo and Barbaresco’s basic soils. These acidic soils produce wine with lower alcohol than you find nowadays in the Langhe; there’s also a tell tale salty-minerality in both Lessona and Bramaterra.
Bramaterra’s volcanic soil is composed of crumbly red-brown rocks made from porphyritic sand crystals. The resulting wines have a chiseled fruit, and a deep salty/savoury minerality, and classic ferrous notes. There’s something rough hewn about the minerailty in these wines, but the tannis are noble Nebbiolo, especially in Cristiano’s hands.
Lessona still has acidic soil as well, but here you see a marine sand that’s yellow and red-ochre in color. Lessona’s is often a paler red, with a more delicate fruit.
Colombera & Garella continue to make stand our wines, and there’s rebuilding of their cellar in 2019 has just made the wines that much more precise and scintillating. If you’re interested in Alto Piemonte, or a more elegant Nebbiolo than the Langhe offers, this is a property to put on your check list.