Every Newly Popular Region Has a Wine That Puts It On the Map - The Grand Cru Quality Bramaterra Riserva from Roccia Rossa Throws Its Hat in the Ring

We Were Early on Alto Piemonte - The World Is Catching on
 - Roberto Conterno Bought Nervi in Gattinara
 - Vinous Just Published an Alto Piemonte Report

Roccia Rossa's Bramaterras Have a Cult Following on the List
 - This Wine Would Put Them on the Map in the States
 - But They Only Made 700 Bottles
 - So Only A Lucky Few of Us Will Get an Allocation

Roccia Rossa 2012 Bramaterra Riserva
 - The Buyers of the Regular Bottlings 2012 and 2013 Love Them
 - Lalou Level Yields of 17 HL/HA
 - Classic Nebbiolo Nose
 - Stunning Fruit Concentration - Fresh, Juicy Cherries
 - Remarkable World Class Elegance and Finesse
 - Poor Volcanic Soils with Low Yields

2015 Roccia Rossa Costa della Sessia "Galliano"
 - Ridiculously Low Yields (20 HL/HA) for an Entry Level Wine
 - Great Fruit, of Course, But So Pretty and Elegant As Well
 - Becoming an Entry Level Favorite on the List
 - You'll Want a Bunch of This - Trust Me

I love selling Burgundy as much as the next guy.  And because of our direct to the consumer model

and our ability to buy incredible young producers, the prices in our Burgundy portfolio are 35-50% below where they should be.  But I really love being ahead of the curve on a region that is largely under appreciated in the states.  And I've been banging the drum hard on Alto Piemonte these past 2 years.  Every new region tends to have a wine that blows the doors off of the world and makes it take notice.  For dry German wines, for example, it was Keller G-Max.  It's too bad that today's wine is such small production because it has the magnitude to really put Alto Piemonte on the map as a producer of world class wines.

I am thrilled to offer the Roccia Rossa 2012 Bramaterra Riserva for $37.99 each on a 4-pack.  To give you an idea of what this wine is like, this wine has the same balance and delicious cherry fruit of Produttori del Barbaresco but with absolutely mind boggling aromatics and palate complexity.  The nose is just gorgeous.  Haunting dried rose petals just dominate. The palate gets even better.  Incredible sweet, bright cherry as soon as it hits your mouth.  After a second, you get rotating cascading swirls of spice and licorice. The palate impact changes every 15 seconds. Incredible complexity.  There's stunning balancing acidity and juiciness. The internal aromatics are really good but will improve as the wine is still a bit young and has some structure to burn.  I'm talking super intense floral aromas, intermingled with spice and licorice. Despite everything that is going on, what's amazing about this wine is the incredible elegance and perfect texture on the palate. A wine like this shows the amazing potential of Alto Piemonte.

This is the kind of wine that you can really sit with for an evening and even with some stale toast, it's a satisfying meal.  The wine can be drunk now with a 30 minute decant but will improve over 2-3 years and drink for 10-20 years. These wines are concentrated but have less risk of being overblown and stewy (a lot of stewy Langhe wines did not make the cut for us).  The soils are brutal porphyric and volcanic soils (that picture on the right was taken in the vineyard and the grapes actually grow in soil like that).  The grapes have to struggle for survival and you can taste it in the wines.  The yields are crazy low (way lower than the 40-50 you see in Barolo/Barbaressco even at good estates) and the concentration is incredible. These wines are achingly beautiful and unlike anything I've had in Piemonte. Imagine if Jacky Truchot made Bramaterra and you'll get an idea of how beautiful, lacy, lithe and haunting these wines are. Unfettered beauty but it is also very very important to let the Bramaterra breathe for at least an hour. It is a must as the wine demands it but as it breathes it transforms in a profound way into this silky, floral, sweet fruited finesse-driven wine. It is very light colors like the Nebbiolo of yesteryear. This is so authentic. I adore these wines and think they truly represent unreal value.

Yields on this wine are crazy low at around 17 HL/HA which is insane for Piedmont.  The Bramaterra is 80% Nebbiolo, 15% Vespolina and 5% Croatina. All hand harvested.  Matured for 30 months in large oak barrels and 3 years n bottle.  This wine is a lighter, more elegant style wine (closer to Burgundy than most wines in the Langhe).  Only 700 bottles were made.

Please don't ignore the second wine.  It's fantastic and one of our best "entry level wines" (even though it's not entry level for most retailers who would charge 50% more for it).  It is from a DOC that is even less well known, and I'm thrilled to offer the Roccia Rossa Costa della Sessia "Galliano" 2015 for $19.99 a bottle on a 4 pack.  This is really a delicious wine that shows what Alto Piemonte can do with an entry level wine.  The nose is also incredibly pretty and aromatic with hints of chestnut and spice. Smells very old school. There is a lovely hint of chestnut.  The palate has lovely cherry fruit and is really, really well balanced with traditional Fass Selections acidity to produce that juiciness that I crave.  This wine is absolutely delicious and really opens up after sitting for a bit. It should improve over 2-3 years and drink well for a 5 years.  Again, only 300 cases were made of this wine as well.


OK - the yields ... 20 hectoliters per hectare.  I'm not kidding.  In Burgundy, they would be 2-3 times that for a wine at this price point.  I have no clue how Davide can afford to make wines with these low yields at these prices.  I suppose that the run on vineyard land in Bramaterra has not yet begun.  The grapes are hand harvested and are 60% Nebbiolo, 25% Barbera and 15% Croatina.  The Nebbiolo is aged in old 2,500 liter barrels for 12 months and the Barbera and Croatina are both aged in used 225 liter barrels for 12 months.  This gives the wine the richness that you see after 45 minutes (you can't taste the wood).

2012 Roccia Rossa Bramattera Riserva - $39.99 ($151.96 4-pack)

2015 Roccia Rossa Coste della Sessia "Galliano" - $21.99 ($79.96 4-pack)