Cantina Clavesana
Piedmont - Italy
The Winery
With 150 members and roughly 320 combined hectares under vine, this hard-working, multi-generational co-operative is based in the town of Clavesana – in turn located just south of Monforte d’Alba in the province of Cuneo. Here, plants typically enjoy more altitude than the next-door Barolo district (the co-op’s vines span 280 to 600 meters), and while Nebbiolo exists, Clavesana’s focus lies firmly on their beloved Dolcetto grape. While the average member’s farm is tiny (less than 2 hectares), as a collective, Cantine Clavesana has positioned themselves as the largest producer of Dolcetto in the Langhe. Beyond this, small amounts of Nebbiolo, Arneis, and Pinot Noir are also grown – and in true Piemontese form, they also count honey and hazelnuts amongst their agricultural products.
Despite the geographic proximity to Alba, Clavesana’s hilly sub-zone has a cooler, fresher mesoclimate and is known for its streak of white clay which contributes to the acidic and tannic structure of Dolcetto. (Overall, the Dogliani DOCG is considered to be ground zero for more substantive, complex expressions of the small, tannic grape.) In a landscape of increasingly expensive Piemontese wines, we found theirs to have a fantastic cost-to-quality ratio, and we applaud their tendency to create wines of a clean, traditional style.
- Enologist
- Damiano Sicca
- Grapes Grown by Winery
- Arneis, Barbera d'Alba, Dolcetto, Favorita, Nebbiolo, Pinot Noir
- Vineyard Size
- 320.0 ha
- Winemaker
- Damiano Sicca
- Winemaker Biography
- Against a backdrop of snow-covered Alps, this collective of 150 small, sustainable farms focuses their efforts squarely on the Dolcetto grape, and most especially the Dogliani DOCG. Clean and correct - yet highly accessible - wine remains their mantra!
- Winemaker Generation
- 3rd
Dogliani DOCG
Although the Cantina Clavesana's HQ is located just 25 km from Alba, this community of small growers benefits from additional altitude and an overall cooler, fresher mesoclimate - utterly ideal for taut, traditional wines like this one. Bright, vertical, and correct, this everyday DOCG delivers dark cherry (developed further through the use of concrete tanks) and dark earth in a wine that is simultaneously friendly and clean. 92 points JS
- Color
- Ruby with violet highlights
- Nose
- Dark cherry and cherry blossom, with hints of both white and dark earth
- Palate
- Bright and vertical, but with ripe, developed berry-driven fruit
- Finish
- Clean, food-friendly
- Vineyard Location
- Dogliani DOCG, Piedmont
- Vineyard Size
- 120 ha
- Varietals List
- 100% Dolcetto
- Farming Practices
- Sustainably farmed, including dry-farmed; grapes picked by hand
- Elevation
- 300-500 m
- Soils
- Clay-limestone mix
- Maturation Summary
- In Steel for 6 months and Bottled for 3 months
- In Steel
- 6 months
- Alcohol
- 13.5 %
- Acidity
- 4.5 g/liter
- Residual Sugar
- 1.9 g/liter
- Annual Production
- 500,000 bottles
Langhe Nebbiolo DOC
When we first tried this Nebbiolo in Italy, what struck us was the combination of its clean, traditional style combined with a really fantastic price point - in other words, Piedmont at its accessible best. With its vertical tannins, firm fruit, and well-managed acidity, this Langhe DOC reveals a wine grown at higher altitude in rich, marly clay soils and deftly managed in the cellar. Only a small portion of the juice spends time in wood, allowing the dark fruit, tobacco elements, and pleasant dry tannins to shine through. 90 pts JS
- Color
- Ruby with garnet edge
- Nose
- Dark cherry, plum, and tobacco
- Palate
- Admirable typicity and structure, with balanced fruit and tannins
- Finish
- Pleasant, with dry tannins
- Vineyard Location
- Langhe DOC, Piedmont
- Vineyard Size
- 30 ha
- Varietals List
- 100% Nebbiolo
- Farming Practices
- Sustainably farmed, including dry-farmed; grapes picked by hand
- Elevation
- 250-400 m
- Soils
- Marly limestone
- Maturation Summary
- In 20% large neutral barrels for 6 months, in Steel 80% 6 months and bottled 3 months
- In Steel
- 80% 6 months
- Alcohol
- 14.0 %
- Acidity
- 4.5 g/liter
- Residual Sugar
- 1.9 g/liter
- Annual Production
- 150,000 bottles
Barolo DOCG
A phenomenal value from stem to stern, this classic Barolo delivers a complex nose of black cherry, plum tobacco leaf, mint and fall forest floor... with the dark fruit and earthy components repeating across a taut, juicy, and correct palate. Its telltale tannins are firm yet integrated, increasing toward the wine's pleasantly dry finish. 9 growers from Novello, Monforte, and La Morra contributed to this small-batch offering from the Clavesana co-operative. 94 Points - JS
- Color
- cherry skin with brick highlights
- Nose
- black cherry, black and red plum, tobacco leaf, hints of mint and fall forest floor
- Palate
- correct and clean, with an old-school mid-palate
- Finish
- pleasant, with dry vertical tannins
- Vineyard Location
- Barolo DOCG, Piedmont
- Vineyard Size
- 20 ha
- Varietals List
- 100% Nebbiolo
- Farming Practices
- Sustainably farmed, including dry-farmed; grapes picked by hand
- Elevation
- 250-300 m
- Soils
- Marly clay; blue marl
- Maturation Summary
- In neutral barrels for 18 months, in Steel 12 months and bottled 12 months
- In Steel
- 12 months
- Alcohol
- 14.5 %
- Annual Production
- 60,000 bottles