Figli Luigi Oddero, Langhe Nebbiolo, La Morra, Piedmont, Italy 2021

Sourced from the lower-altitude slopes within the estate’s parcels in the crus Rive (La Morra) and Scarrone (Castiglione Falletto), Oddero's Langhe Nebbiolo is effectively a Barolo — at least in terms of its zip code. While these more clay-dominated parts of the crus yield fruit of less mineral-inflected complexity than those destined for the Barolo bottlings, one still senses the elegance and lurking power of which these environs are capable.

The Langhe Nebbiolo undergoes a briefer maceration than the Barolo in order to emphasize its freshness and perfume, and aging takes place in massive 85-hectoliter oak botti for 18 months. This wine displays fine-grained tannins and impressive length, with attractive and effusive aromas of roses, herbal spice, and perfectly ripened strawberries.

The Oddero family, active in the Barolo wine trade since the 1800s, was among the first to commercialize wine from the zone, and through the years they amassed a staggering 70 hectares of land — with over 50 dedicated to Nebbiolo di Barolo.

Luigi and his brother Giacomo co-owned the Oddero estate until 2006, when insurmountable tensions drove them apart. The family holdings were divided roughly equally between the two: Giacomo retained the old cellar, and Luigi set up shop in the former winery of local figurehead Luigi Parà, barely a kilometer away. Luigi passed away in 2010, leaving behind his wife Lena, and their two children Maria and Giovanni, all of whom are involved with the management of the estate. In 2012, Lena hired a man named Dante Scaglioni — a local who had worked for 25 years as the winemaker for the legendary Bruno Giacosa — and it is through Dante’s guidance that the estate’s wines have reached new heights of expressiveness and complexity, building upon the honest, blood-and-guts traditionalism that had always informed them.