Tre Bicchieri in Piedmont
In the close-knit world of Italian wine, Piedmont remains a central region, especially when it comes to quality and not quantity. On the other hand, when you're lucky enough to have a grape like Nebbiolo, now broadly appreciated by enthusiasts and great sommeliers from all over the world, and considered on par with the most prestigious international appellations, the question doesn't even come up. As a result, in our regional selection of award-winning wines, Nebbiolo remains in a prominent position, with 38 bottles in all. What we'd like to note is the well-deserved growth of Barbera and of the whole territory of Monferrato, which has always been the region's viticultural hub. In this area, Barbera and Nebbiolo grapes have always been a core part of agricultural production. Moscato continues its ups and downs (between Moscato d'Asti standard corks, fresh off the founding of the Canelli DOCG, and Metodo Classico Asti Spumante, there's no shortage of excellence). Barbera seems, however, to have hit its stride. This year it's the latter that's made the most progress, with a good number of award-winning wines (4 Barbera d'Astis, 2 Monferratos and 3 Nizzas).
The best wines of Piedmont
Scrolling through the Tre Bicchieri awarded, the elasticity of the grape emerges, with numerous 2019 Barberas and even a 2020. It's a cultivar capable of giving shape to highly ageworthy wines and fantastic, young, fruity reds. Ruché and Grignolino crown this magnificent overall performance. If we add to all this the fact that Alta Langa hasn't given an inch, then the future looks quite bright for this area as well. A few words in closing to highlight the fact that, while this general enthusiasm has involved the region's already prestigious areas, it's also prompted many young wineries to keep Piedmont's flag flying high. So once again, this year, in addition to the wineries that took home top marks after years of absence, there are 4 newcomers (3 with Barolo, where there seemed to be nothing more to discover): Réva with their Barolo Cannubi '17, Lo Zoccolaio with the Barolo Ravera Riserva 2015, Fratelli Monchiero with their Barolo Rocche di Castiglione 2017 and the Lessona 2018 by Villa Guelpa.