Elio Filippino Langhe Nebbiolo DOC 2016

If you have never sampled a proper Piedmont nebbiolo, this is the right place to start! I have never had nebbiolo made outside of the Piedmont region that tastes quite like it. Langhe is the region within Piedmont where the 2 most famous nebbiolo towns under the sun preside – Barolo and Barbaresco.

Although the production of Langhe wine is slightly less rigorous than its older siblings Barolo and Barbaresco, somewhere in the middle where science meets art, the quality and results of a Langhe can be eerily, mysteriously like its older siblings Barolo and Barbaresco. For starters, it includes several special parcels of fruit sourced from the same villages. And this particular wine is one of those super well-made, well-chosen examples, and it won’t drain your wallet like its older siblings.

If we had been blind tested, our first guess would have been Barbaresco. We sampled several far more exxy Barolos and Barbarescos that couldn’t compete on quality with this excellent Langhe. So, with that said, what’s in the bottle? Just like its older siblings, you get a whole bunch of soured dates and raisins and a heap of soil and earth chucked in for good measure. All the dimensions join together like a mother with her newborn. This is just a top drop!

For the tasting, we matched it with Moroccan lamb backstrap (click for recipe) and were lost for words for quite a few minutes, before rising to the surface to rave. I wonder what the others are doing when we have these moments! Life’s too short to live without them.

Popsy & JJ tasted and food matched March 2021

Glass

Burgundy

Cellaring

Have now or nest it like a magpie in September for another 10 years.

Decanter

Decant for a good hour or more.