GUIDO PORRO LANGHE NEBBIOLO 2022
Guido Porro is one of my favorite under the radar producers…They also happen to be among the most fairly priced Baroli readers will come across in today’s market. Porro’s vineyards are in Serralunga, where Baroli tend to be quite powerful, but here the wines are delicate, perfumed and refined, all in a classic, traditional style built on transparency and weightlessness. Guido Porro remains one of the most underrated growers in Serralunga. ANTONIO GALLONI, vinous.com
There’s something very informal and inviting about this easy going Nebbiolo…MONICA LARNER (on the 2021)
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Nebbiolo, Italy’s greatest native grape is having a moment, and you don’t need to pay top dollar to see its beauty revealed. We’re talking about youthful Nebbiolo, like Langhe Nebbiolo. This isn’t trend-driven either, the Piedmontese have hit the nail on the head in both vineyard and winery when it comes to making youthful Nebbiolo. The best combine the spine of tannins with perfumed fruity charm, they’re paragons of elegance and refinement.
The wines of Guido Porro are a beautiful anomaly. Their delicacy and purity are without peers in Serralunga, a commune renowned for producing austere and powerful Baroli. As Monica Larner says on the previous release of this Langhe Nebbiolo, ‘There’s something very informal and inviting about this easygoing Nebbiolo.’
Rose petals and filigreed tannins are not weighed down by long periods of aging. It glides across the palate marrying depth and buoyancy, it is richly fruited. And it’s nicely priced, as Kerin O’keefe says ‘The best part for consumers is that these wines cost far less than Barolo and Barbaresco while still boasting Nebbiolo’s energy, fragrance, and flavors.’
This is a family-run estate, often three generations are working side by side in the winery during vintage for the daily pumpovers. While Guido Jnr is the current custodian, grandfather Guido Snr is never far away, and fresh out of university is grandson Fabio who is energetic and welcoming in his manner.
Although it’s labeled Langhe Nebbiolo, it’s from the Lazzarito Cru within Serralunga (Vietti makes a Barolo from here for upwards of $500/btl!). It’s fermented in stainless and then aged in concrete which captures its pure essence.
This full-bodied red delivers the pleasure factor when young, though it can age. 2022 has amped up its intensity, its cushioned core is balanced by a fine and unfurling funnel of tannins. Drink it when the weather cools and you need something fleshy with an unimposing structure and off-the-charts deliciousness. We’ve got just 10 dozen, first in first served.