Elvio Cogno Pre-Phylloxera Barbera d’Alba 2020

Elvio Cogno Barbera d’Alba Pre Phylloxera

Notes
Produced from one of the last archaic vineyard of Langhe region, an open-air museum from a time gone by, with vines older than a hundred years. The vines are onto 100% Vitis Vinifera roots and replicate by propagation. They have therefore maintained, over the decades, the original Barbera characteristics. The small plot, situated in Berri near La Morra, has an excellent exposure and sandy-chalky terrain which guarantees a natural protection from Philloxera. This mixes with the intriguing vine resiliency and its most typical charms imparted from the microclimate and a particularly favorable altitude. The low production per hectare guarantees an intensely rare and rich organoleptic concentration. The wine is refined in oak casks which slowly develop all primary aromas. Pleasant and refined, complex even as a young wine, it is not afraid to be aged in bottle, expressing its solid uniqueness even over the years.

Appellation: Barbera d’Alba
Region: Piedmont
Country: Italy
Raw Materials: Barbera
Producer: Elvio Cogno

Product information
A bright, rich ruby color with intense purplish highlights. The aroma is enveloping, aromatic and deep with noticeable spices on first impact and raspberry, strawberry, and ripe cherry notes. Finishing with pleasant harmonies of wild flowers. On the palate, it is well structured, fresh and has a supremely balanced acidity. The tannins are enveloping, and the flavors are reminiscent of sour cherries, blackberries and prunes.

Tasting notes
Fruity notes of blackberry and cherry, perfectly balanced by aromas of violet, spices and balsamic scents. The taste is taut, enveloping and satisfying, characterized by fine and delicate tannins, excellent freshness, and a long finish. It is a bright and slender Barbera that knows how to express itself with grace and great elegance.

Pairs well with
This versatile wine is enhanced by starter dishes with meaty sauces and also red or wild meat. It does justice to strong cheeses, savory or aged.

About the producer
The Cogno family has been making wine for four generations in Piedmont. In 1990, Elvio Cogno left a long and fruitful partnership with the venerable Barolo producer Marcarini at La Morra and bought a splendid, historic 18th-century farmhouse on the top of Bricco Ravera, a hill near Novello in the Langhe area. (Novello is one of the 11 communes in which Barolo is produced.) The farm was surrounded by 11 hectares (27.18 acres) of steeply sloped vineyards. Elvio restored the manor, converted the old granaries to wine cellars and founded his eponymous winery. For the next 20 years he devoted himself to the winemaking traditions handed down to him by his father and grandfather.

Elvio, in turn, has now passed the torch to his daughter, Nadia, and her husband, Valter Fissore, who has worked beside Elvio for 25 years. Following in the footsteps of Elvio the maestro, Elvio Cogno winery continues to produce elegant wines without altering the traditions, styles and flavors of the Langhe, with its breathtaking quilted landscape and unique grape varieties.

The Elvio Cogno winery sits at the top of Bricco Ravera, a hill near Novello in the Langhe area of Piedmont, one of the 11 communes in which Barolo is produced. Ravera is the finest cru of Novello, encircling the top of the hill and the winery, reaching a 380-meter (1,246-foot) elevation, with breathtaking views in all directions.

Area: 0.25 hectares
Grape vine: Barbera Vitis Vinifera
Density: 4,500 vines per hectare
Cultivation: vertically trellised and Guyot pruning
Altitude: 520 meters above sea level
Bottles produced: 2,000
Harvest season: Start of October
Wine making: in stainless steel, temperature-controlled, automatic pumping-over
Aging: 12 months in large Slavonia oak barrel
Lysis: 60 days
Bottle aging: 6 months