PER PAPA Nebbiolo 2016 [Castello Di Cigognola] 75cl

Medium Body, Dry (Nebbiolo). IGT Provincia di Pavia. Alc 15%.

A very special wine and a great introduction to the noble Nebbiolo grape, from vines located on the slopes of a historic castle estate in west Lombardy's Oltrepo' Pavese wine zone. Great gift idea and perfect for blind tasting challenges (for example, against other Nebbiolo from Piedmont's Barolo, Gattinara or Roero).

TASTING NOTES: Rich, ripe red fruit and leather on the nose. Also a lot of floral notes, moving towards dried flowers. An elegant wine with a lively finish composed of thick yet refined tannins. (In the mouth the balsamic and the structure integrated with the wood, unmistakably lead back to the variety, Nebbiolo, and the Oltrepo Pavese territory.)

GRAPE NOTES: Nebbiolo isn't only from Barolo, or even Piedmont - this delicious wine celebrates Nebbiolo of Pavia and is dedicated to Angelo Moratti who had this vision for putting a Lombardy Nebbiolo on the map!

From the winery:

"A symphony of tangy and hearty, the see-through rubin color anticipating accents 
of red fruits and leather in the scent. The palate discovers the complex nuances of balsamic and a reminiscence of wood, a marriage of elements that embody the qualities of Nebbiolo and of the Oltrepò Pavese terroir. IGT Provincia di Pavia; 100% Nebbiolo; Long maceration, aged for 12 months in small casks and for 24 months in the bottle."

MEET THE WINERY: Click here to read more background on this family-run estate.

Finally, an excerpt from an article by Walter Speller for JancisRobinson.com, written in summer 2021, says "I have rarely come across an interesting sparkling wine from [Lombardy's Oltrepò Pavese area] ... and when I did I filed the experience under 'exception proving the rule'. Therefore I was quite thrown off balance when I tasted the metodo classico wines from Castello di Cigognola ... Owned by Moratti, a family of entrepreneurs, the team at the property have set themselves the lofty goal of challenging not Franciacorta but Champagne. Their secret weapon is north-facing, mature vineyards of Pinot Noir at elevations of at least 350 m (1,150 ft). Fully ripe grapes are what they are after, something which Oltrepò Pavese routinely delivers year after year, making adding sugar at any stage of the winemaking process unnecessary. The Morattis have taken on board star oenologist Federico Staderini, who among others is responsible for the Poggio di Sotto Brunellos that are extremely elegant even though they are grown in one of Montalcino's warmer areas. And that seems to be the Staderini signature: Oltrepò Pavese can be very warm, but the first releases of Castello di Cigognola do not reflect this in the least. What they show, dare I say it, is that Oltrepò Pavese can be a very good place to produce top Pinot Noirs and not just in sparkling form."