Lighter, earthier, and probably a little weirder than the wines of Barolo and Barbaresco, Alto Piemonte offers Nebbiolo drinkers a sense of adventure. Its largest DOC, Gattinara, is also the most well known, due at... Read More

Lighter, earthier, and probably a little weirder than the wines of Barolo and Barbaresco, Alto Piemonte offers Nebbiolo drinkers a sense of adventure. Its largest DOC, Gattinara, is also the most well known, due at least partly to Roberto Conterno's recent acquisition of Nervi, but others remain quite obscure.

In one of these obscure locales —Boca — you'll find one of the region's greatest producers: Le Piane.

The story of Le Piane is an interesting mix of hyper-traditional and new. The Swiss Christoph Kunzli purchased the cellar and a tiny clutch of vines from octogenarian vigneron Antonio Cerri soon after arriving in the region in the late 1980s. At that time, the vineyards of Boca were especially meager: just 20 hectares remained of what used to be a thousand, and forest covered the abandoned lots.

Le Piane eventually expanded to about 8 hectares (still quite small!), breathing new life into the region while also preserving the traditional style of winemaking. The culmination of years of painstaking work, these are easily some of the best and most age-worthy wines of Alto Piemonte.