Vallana, My Old Friend
10/13/26 -
We have the pleasure to put on offer today an icon of Alto Piemonte, the spectacular wines of Vallana in library release back vintages. We are no strangers to the wines of Vallana at Chambers Street: long time readers of our newsletter will remember the generous way Jamie Wolff wrote about drinking back vintage Vallana at an old haunt. He describes the wines as “profound examples of old Nebbiolo, a bit rustic in comparison to the wines from Barolo and Barbaresco, but fresh and vibrant and complex.” I simply couldn’t say it better myself. Truly a benchmark of Alto Piemonte, these wines are showing well right out of the bottle at 10-18 years of age with enough life to be savored for years to come.
The history of Vallana is vast, dating back to 1787 and culminating in the visionary hands of winemaker Bernardo Vallana whose taste defined the style of his time. To this day his grandchildren, Francis and Marina, carry on that tradition. Situated in Colline Novaresi on acidic and volcanic soils, the primary grapes in use are Spanna (the local dialect for Nebbiolo) and Vespolina. All the wines see concrete fermentiation, most of which follow with 1-2 years in large, neutral wood, with heavy emphasis on bottle aging. The result are wines with vivacity and power.
We opened some bottles for the staff to taste and were all blown away by the fresh, expressive and structured qualities of the wine. The 2010 Boca was singing with plump cherry fruits veiled in tasteful notes of pink peppercorn and dried orange, a true autumnal wine destined for a holiday table. The 2010 Campii Raudi was full of snappy red fruit upon opening, proving that 16 year old Alto Piemonte can be fresh and zippy. Ultimately, we found the wines charming, rustic, and intriguing. They're lovely for special occasions or even a more casual pizza night. On offer today we have Campi Raudii, Boca, Gattinara, Spanna, Barbera and Spanna Cuvee Bernardo with vintages from 2007-2016.
-Kaelen Ghandhi
