Region: Roero, Piedmont, Italy

Varietal: 100% Nebbiolo

Tasting notes: Bright berry fruit (strawberries, raspberries, black currants) and spice appear first, followed by more savory hints of iron, leather smoke and tobacco. The Roero is a wine of significant character and complexity that will only continue to impress with age.

Producer: Giuseppe Damonte established Malvirà in 1950, a time when the Roero’s potential was yet unrealized. Giuseppe had a great passion for farming and wine, a passion that he passed on to his two sons, Roberto and Massimo. In 1974, Roberto and Massimo took the reins and began slowly turning the family’s bulk wine business into an estate focusing on quality wine production. Over the course of the next 30+ years, the brothers Damonte worked tirelessly to improve the quality of wines at Malvirà. Today their entire production comes from six vineyards over about 40 HA, all of which is organically farmed.

Vineyard and Winemaking: Like all of the Roero, Trinità was once an ocean floor. Its soils contain high proportions of sand and clay, along with many fossilized shells. Most of the grapes come from the top of the Trinità vineyard, where there is a much higher proportion of clay in the soils. The Nebbiolo is hand harvested in early October and aged for 18 months in 450 liter French barrels (50% new and 50% second pass).