Cantine garrone
Valli Ossolane DOC
“These wines should be on any Nebbiolo fancier’s radar. So distinctive and good.”
Cantine Garrone is the trailblazing force behind the emergence of Valli Ossolane DOC, a tiny, ancient Nebbiolo growing region in alpine Piedmont.
Cantine Garrone is a small winery wedged into the Italian Alps, with Switzerland 10 kilometres to the west and Lake Maggiore 30 kilometres to the east. The estate was created in 1920 by grand-father Luigi and is now in the hands of Matteo and Marco Garrone. By the 1990s, the intensive labor required for wine cultivation was completely on the shoulders of the proud local farmers who were, and continue to, produce wine for personal use. It was then that the Garrone’s decided to dedicate their lives to preserving, and amplifying, this production. In 1994 they became commercial, releasing just 36 bottles. By 2024 the family owns 3.5 hectares and collates fruit across 7.5 hectares owned by 40 miniature-scale farmers (and saviours of the local wine culture), the Valli Ossolane growers association. Some of the parcels are as small as the size of your living room, often containing pre-Phylloxera Prünent vines (some into their 200s!) trained to a pergola system called toppia. In 2009 the Garrone family put the Ossola valleys back on the wine map, negotiating the Valli Ossolane DOC. It is hard to overstate what they have achieved for this area, its vines and people.
A typical Prünent vineyard in Valli Ossolane. The size of a small restaurant dining room.
With a written reference from 1309, Prünent is thought to be oldest living type of Nebbiolo. Matteo and Marco Garrone are the young masters of this ancient variety, releasing world-class wines that are finding their way onto great restaurant lists. Volumes are tiny and we take what we can get. Their wines have finesse, ‘verticality’ and a point of difference to Langhe, Valtellina and Alto Piemonte (which is an hour to the south). With cool feeling fruit and a profile tinged with darkness and mystique, these are fine-boned Nebbiolo driven by acidity and mountain freshness.
Leave Barolo behind for a second and travel north…
With regards to wine making, each red wine is produced in the same manner. The fruit is foot stomped and left to ferment naturally on skins for 10-12 days. Munaloss sees no oak, spending a year in stainless steel instead. Cà d’Maté, Prünent and Diecibrente are all aged in 20 HL neutral oak for 12+ months followed by further bottle refinement between the Garrone cellar and ours.
THE WINES
Cantine Garrone ‘La Gera’ Valli Ossolane DOC Chardonnay
In Ossolane dialect, ‘gera’ means ‘stony ground’, reflecting the rocky, glacial-marine soils of this small, east facing vineyard in Oira. You can see the ten year old (2023), terraced Chardonnay vines from the ancient Garrone cellar (and the village cheese cave!). Made elegantly, the juice stays in contact with skins for a few hours before slow fermentation between 15-18 degrees. Throughout winter, the wine remains on it’s fine lees in an outdoor vat before bottling in March. Always in the pursuit of minerality and long, vertical profiled wines, Matteo guides this mountain Chardonnay perfectly, preferring stainless steel over oak to tell the story. 2000 bottles.
Cantine Garrone ‘Munaloss’ Nebbiolo/Croatina
Mirroring the Cà d'Maté blend, Munaloss is a perfectly balanced Nebbiolo (80%) Croatina (20%) wine. Shimmering, bright and delightful, it is phenomenal for its price point. It has so much verve with gorgeous, bursting red fruits, alpine herbs and a mouth-watering blood orange acidity.
“The 2022 Vino Rosso Munaloss is bright, focused and sculpted. Sweet red fruit, sage, mint and blood orange abound in this super-expressive wine. Exuberant yet classically built, the 2022 has fine energy and tons of class. This is a fabulous entry-level offering. This distinctive, giving wine would cost 3-4x much in many other regions.” - Antonio Galloni, Vinous.
Cantine Garrone ‘Cà d’Maté’ Valli Ossolane Rosso DOC
Although it is not easily found outside the region (other importers and markets focus on the 100% Nebbiolo wine), Cà d'Maté is essential for those who want to experience this terroir. It is a favourite of ours for it's cultural makeup. Complex and dynamic, it shows a mix of the bright red aromatics of the Nebbiolo (80%) and the dark, earthy side of Croatina (20%) – oh so typical of this region. It ages beautifully and offers so much interest at its price point. 5000 bottles.
Cantine Garrone ‘Prünent’ Valli Ossolane DOC Nebbiolo Superiore
Aromatically pure and perfumed, combining spice, dark cherry and tart mountain berries. It is vertical, sleek and silky, with a captivating finesse. Based on 70+ year, old-vine genetics, this unique alpine Nebbiolo is full of terroir, nuance and history – total class and essential drinking for all Nebbiolo lovers (indeed terroir lovers of all stripes). 5000 bottles made.
Cantine Garrone ‘Diecibrente’ Valli Ossolane DOC Nebbiolo Superiore *Extremely limited
Diecibrente represents alpine Nebbiolo at its most breathtaking.
“The 2020 Nebbiolo Superiore Prünent Diecibrente is gorgeous. It emerges from a single vineyard and is aged in cask. Bright and translucent, with lovely aromatics, the 2020 offers up scents of sweet dried cherry, tobacco, mint, spice, cedar and pipe tobacco. Bright acids pull it all together on the close. This understated, gracious red is a jewel and a fine example of what is possible in the Valli Ossolane appellation. Moreover, it offers superb quality for the money.” Antonio Galloni, Vinous.
Cantine Garrone Grappa di 'Prünent' *Extremely limited
Made from the pomace of 'Prünent', Cantine Garrone's flagship Nebbiolo wine. Only 400 bottles are produced using the bain marie method of distillation - the slowest, most intensive extraction used in craft distillation for a superiore purity of flavour. The resulting grappa is extremely pure and ethereal with an extremely long, persistent finish. Another impeccable Garrone moment.
Cantine Garrone Grappa di 'Cà d'Mate' *Extremely limited
Made from the pomace of 'Ca d'Mate', one of Cantine Garrone's cru Nebbiolo based wines. A mere 600 bottles are produced using the bain marie method of distillation - the slowest, most intensive extraction used in craft distillation for a superiore purity of flavour. The resulting grappa is aged for a year in oak, adding gentle wood spice, complexity and texture to this Alpine creation.
FURTHER READING
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