Valmaggiore is a magical, three-hectare, amphitheatre-shaped vineyard in the Roero area of Piemonte. Now that Roero is rising in prominence, we can start to truly recognise what a pioneer Luciano Sandrone was in the region when he established Valmaggiore some 30 years ago. At this time nobody was talking about Roero (unless it was to disparage it), yet Sandrone recognised its potential, having worked with parcels of Roero fruit during his time as cellarmaster of Marchesi di Barolo. Sandrone worked tirelessly to identify a particular site, then to convince all the farmers on the slope to sell him their land, and finally, he had to convince the bank to fund his project. The risks were enormous; establishing an extremely steep vineyard (50% gradient in places), with such sandy soils (quick to dry out and erode) was always going to be a huge challenge, with no guarantee of quality. The land would also need to be terraced and replanted, requiring major investment. And all this in a place, outside of the Barolo region, that no one believed capable of greatness. Luciano Sandrone begged to differ.
The spectacularly beautiful Valmaggiore vineyard was planted to a relatively high density of 8,000 vines per hectare. The wines it gifted from the early days justified Sandrone’s dream: it’s always a remarkably perfumed and elegant expression of Nebbiolo, quite distinct from the denser, darker, more structured styles produced in the clay-rich soils of Barolo and Barbaresco. The wine has since gone from strength to strength as the vines have aged, and today is absolutely outstanding.
The site is farmed meticulously and organically, and strict sorting occurs each year to reach the level of purity and intensity we see in the glass. Fermentation occurs in tank, with malolactic conversion and maturation in old French demi-muid (with 9-12 months aging). Over the years this wine has developed a passionate following in Australia, and it deserves every plaudit.