Harvest 2024: When Taking Risks Pays Off

I truly put everything on the line, risking it all to the very last berry.
When it comes to Nebbiolo, I turn into a real “hunter” of phenolic ripeness.
I chase that finesse and elegance in the tannins that only this grape, pushed to its limits, can express.

Fear wasn’t absent.
A little more rain, and there would’ve been next to nothing to bring to the cellar.

Why take such a big risk? Was it really necessary?
Probably not. Especially this year.
But I’m realizing, as the years go by, that I’m turning into a pathological perfectionist.

Let me explain.
This was a year when I should have focused more on the big picture rather than the details.
But I have the fortune (or misfortune!?) of having a friend who has told me for years:
“You can always make a GOOD Nebbiolo. But to make a GREAT Nebbiolo, you need patience and must wait for the tannins to ripen—even if it means taking risks.”

So I waited, and I harvested grapes with a beautiful Botrytis Cinerea: not sour rot, but noble rot, which helps concentrate the wine’s aromatic compounds.
Of course, the harvest wasn’t easy. Extremely delicate clusters with skins on the verge, splitting with alarming ease!
But, it’s done now.

And even if no one cares about these mental fixations, this year I felt a little heroic myself. In fact, I felt like a true… RO-HERO!

I like details. They’re not essential, but they make all the difference.
(Perhaps, even more so this year).