Barolo Bussia 2016

The Wine: Barolo Bussia 2016 Cascina Pugnane Barolo Bussia is a red wine made from 100% Nebbiolo grapes farmed sustainably in Piedmont, Northern Italy. This is a classic Barolo from one of the best crus, Bussia; it needs decanting and it would be even better if you could stash it away for a couple of years. Pair with a hearty stew or juicy steak to counterbalance the tannins. Overall it is a monumental wine, complex, layered, and ever-evolving in the glass. The Producer: Cascina Pugnane The Ghisolfi family have been hard at work in Barolo since the 1600s. Cascina Pugnane is located at the intersection of the municipalities of Barolo and Castiglione Falletto, in the heart of the Pugnane cru area. Brothers Enzo and Ivo are at the helm of Cascina Pugnane, a 6-hectare estate dedicated to producing high-quality wines from local grape varietals such as Nebbiolo and Dolcetto. Needless to say that everything is done by hand with the utmost care, production is small, and the bulk of the work is carried out in the vineyards. The Region: Piedmont Piedmont (or Piemonte in Italian), described by many wine lovers as the “Burgundy of Italy”, is without a doubt one of the most revered wine-producing regions in the world. Piedmont, which literally means “at the foot of the mountain”, is located in the northwestern part of Italy. It borders with France (west), Valle d’Aosta (north-west), Lombardy (east), Liguria (south). The capital of Piedmont is Turin, its biggest city, and the main industrial center. In this very similar to Veneto, Piedmont's wine landscape is defined by the presence of several indigenous grape varietals, which give a wide array of incredibly unique wines. Piedmont’s traditional winemaking has one main characteristic: grape varietals, native or non-native, are almost never blended. The association with Burgundy comes from three essential facts: Great focus on the quality of production over quantity: wineries in Piedmont tend to be very small, mostly family-owned, and are integrated with the environment. Terroir-driven approach to viticulture and winemaking: vineyards are carefully subdivided in cru (zonazione in Italian), which give unique wines with a specific character. Nebbiolo, one of the most famous red grape varietals in the world, is vinified following a similar approach to Pinot Noir in Burgundy – for example, it’s never blended. The Red Wines of Piedmont Nebbiolo is for Piedmont what Pinot Noir is for Burgundy. There are several Nebbiolo-based DOCGs - Barolo, Barbaresco, Ghemme, Gattinara - and it's safe to say that Nebbiolo is the most representative red grape varietal of Piedmont. Other notable red grapes are Barbera, in all its incarnations - Barbera d'Asti, Barbera d'Alba, Barbera del Monferrato - Dolcetto - Dolcetto di Diano d'Alba, Dolcetto di Ovada, Dolcetto di Dogliani - and Brachetto d'Aqui. Less common but very interesting, especially after being rediscovered by a handful of excellent producers, varietals such as Pelaverga, Freisa, and Grignolino, have found a new place in Piedmont's winemaking landscape. The White Wines of Piedmont Piedmont is very often, and mistakenly so, identified as a land of red wine – most notably Barolo and Barbaresco. However, among Piedmont’s most exciting wines, there are several whites. Erbaluce di Caluso, Gavi, Arneis are all native grape varietals vinified superbly into exciting white wines. Moscato d’Asti is another one of Piedmont’s mainstays, famous in its Asti Spumante iteration, the ubiquitous sweet, white, sparkling wine., The Region: Piedmont