Description
“Every year and every bottle tells the story of a dream come true: the young cellarman who became one of Barolo’s emblamatic figures.” Gambero Rosso 2009
“In a region full of outspoken, colorful producers, Sandrone remains soft-spoken and rather shy, but his wines speak for themselves rather eloquently.” Antonio Galloni, The Wine Advocate
Sandrone is the Barolo producer whose wines most remind us of Burgundy. The suave, seamless texture, fine tannins and depth of flavour of these Barolos makes them some of the most sought-after wines of the region. With age, they are so polished, so pure, so seductive. Sandrone uses 500lt barrels (typically only 10% – 20% new), picks at very low yields and bottles his wines before they lose their freshness or purity. His wines are wonderfully intense and vibrant with ripe, fine tannins. They drink well young and age brilliantly. Like most of the greatest producers he takes the best of the old school and incorporates the best of the new.
The wines are bright and beautifully sophisticated which we suppose is up to date, but many of the methods are essentially old school: organic viticulture (is that modern or traditional?), open-top fermentation tanks, elongated skin contact, natural yeast fermentation, no barriques and no additions, bottling without filtration, and so on.
Of course what is most important is that irrespective of fashion or style, Luciano Sandrone crafts wines of profound integrity, purity and deep expression. These are wines made with passion and honesty. They provide great drinking pleasure both when young and with bottle age. As a fastidious and naturally talented vigneron, Sandrone’s obligation to keep the unique signature of the terroirs alive is vividly captured in the wonderfully intense wines