VALDISOLE
Corneliano d’Alba
Piedmont
Valdisole was born in 2015 and is located in the beautiful Langhe town of Corneliano d’Alba. The project began when Giuseppe Amato and Kyriaki Kalimeri, both coming from completely different professional backgrounds, decided to purchase a half hectare of vines. Giuseppe and Kyriaki are unabashed by how impulsive this journey into wine was, purchasing their first holdings online on a website that sold second-hand goods! Six years on, their vineyards are a combination of old and new plantings, all within the DOCG Roero denomination. From the outset, their approach in the vineyard has been strictly natural and this philosophy continues to their work in the cellar.
Piemonte is the only Italian region that does not allow for an IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica). IGT lies at the lowest quality rank in wine production, only above "table wine". Giuseppe and Kyriaki chose to downgrade their production to table wine to maintain their freedom and continue experimenting with unusual vinifications and as a result are not allowed to indicate the grapes used in each wine.
Photo by @farahmaggioraphotography
Pet Nat
Vintage 2021
Style Sparkling
Region Roero, Piedmont
Varieties Arneis
ABV 12%
Soils Clay marls, sandstone
Farming Biodynamic (not certified)
Winemaking Grapes are hand harvested on the 18th of September. Spontaneous fermentation and maceration on the skins for 15 days. The wines is bottle on the 16th of October with 7g/L of residual sugar. This is unfiltered with no added sulphites.
Tasting Note A very aromatic fizz bursting with tropical notes of lychee, peach, mango and candid pineapple. Palate is clean and mouthwatering with well integrated fizz.
Gaia
Vintage 2022
Style Orange
Region Roero, Piedmont
Varieties Malvasia di Candia
ABV 12%
Soils Clay marls, sandstone
Farming Biodynamic (not certified)
Winemaking The grapes are manually harvested on the 9th of September and macerated on the skins for 2 weeks in stainless steel tanks. The wine is spontaneously fermented and aged for 7 months in tank. This is unfiltered and only sees a minimal addition of sulfur in the bottling phaase (20mg/l).
Tasting Note Fragrant aromas of lychee, fresh mango, crushed pineapple and spiced apricots. On the palate the same fragrant feel with some bit and and spice from the skin contact period.
Aura
Vintage 2021
Style Orange
Region Roero, Piedmont
Varieties Moscato Bianco
ABV 12.5%
Soils Clay, sand, limestone
Farming Biodynamic (not certified)
Winemaking Grapes were hand harvested on the 10th of September. One third of the harvest was macerated on the skins for 20 days in ooak tonneaux and an old barrique. The remaining two thirds spent 8 months on the skins, but in stainless steel. After pressing, the wines are blended and aged for one motnh in tank before bottling.
Tasting Note Immediate and sincere, goes from grape to wine remaining coherent and true in its expression. Perfumed aromas of mandarin orange, ripe pear, sweet lemon and a touch of honeysuckle. The wine’s unique floral quality really shines through ending on a long, salivating finish.
Elektra
Vintage 2020
Style Orange
Region Roero, Piedmont
Varieties Malvasia Moscata
ABV 11%
Soils Sand, limestone, grey marl
Farming Biodynamic (not certified)
Winemaking This historical variety exists only in Piedmont, and even if it has been widespread in the region since the middle ages, now very few hectares remain. It was slowly abandoned due to the more difficult production with respect to higher yielding Moscato. Grapes are hand harvested on the 12th of September.
Spontaneous fermentation in oak and
acacia barrels of 500 litres. 9 months of
maceration on the skins. This wine is bottled
unfiltered and with only 20mg/L of
sulphites.
Tasting Note Soft candied peach, rose petal jasmine, lychee and toast, briochey texture and a bit of bite on the palate.
Oneiro
Vintage 2020
Style Orange
Region Roero, Piedmont
Varieties Savagnin
ABV 11.5%
Soils Clay, limestone, blue marl
Farming Biodynamic (not certified)
Winemaking Hand harvest on the 21st of September. Grapes are d
e-stemmed and macerated on the skins for 5 days. Spontaneous fermentation in acacia
and oak tonneau. Ageing for 10 months.
This wine is unfiltered and no sulphur was added.
Tasting Note A floreal, slightly oxidative Savagnin. Gently aromatic with savoury and spicy notes. The variety really displays its tropical qualities in an elegant and refined way. Only bottled in 50cl and about 350 bottles produced.
Pnoi
Vintage 2022
Style Rosé
Region Roero, Piedmont
Varieties Nebbiolo
ABV 15.5%
Soils Clay, sandstone
Farming Biodynamic (not certified)
Winemaking Before the Nebbiolo we know today, the variety was used to make intense, fruit-forward semi-dark rosé. Replicating the original winemaking processes (with some improvements), Valdisole has produced a modern version of these wines in 2022. The fruit is slowly pressed with barely any maceration and feeds into barrique where it ferments and aged for 9 months. Bottled by hand with a tiny amount of residual sugar (22g/L).
Tasting Note Pnoi is delicate yet structured, with an intensity to the fruit that gives energy on the attack.
Simposio
Vintage 2021
Style Red
Region Roero, Piedmont
Varieties Freisa, Barbera, Brachetto del Roero, Pelaverga, Ruche, Moscato Nero d’Acqui, Malvasia Nera
ABV 12.5%
Soils Clay, sandstone
Farming Biodynamic (not certified)
Winemaking All grapes have been hand-picked and vinified following a number of different techniques. Brachetto was macerated on the skins for 15 days in stainless steel.
The Freisa, Ruche and Barbera were gently pressed and processed as a rosé.
During fermentation the Pelaverga, Moscato Nero d’Acqui and Malvasia Nera were added in, starting some sort of carbonic maceration.
The Brachetto is then blended in after fermentation and the wine is aged in stainless steel for a minimum of 10 months.
All the grapes have been spontaneously fermented with native yeasts.
It is bottled unfiltered using as little as 20mg/L of sulfites.
Tasting Note A wonderfully complex yet light red made with a blend of seven varieties. On the nose displays rose petals, bergamot and goji berries aromas. The palate offers a lovely freshness alongside an earthy quality and lavender hints.
Amos
Vintage 2019
Style Red
Region Roero, Piedmont
Varieties Nebbiolo
ABV 13.5%
Soils Clay marls, limestone, grey marl
Farming Biodynamic (not certified)
Winemaking Vines are an average of 15-20 years old. Grapes are hand harvested, spontaneously fermented and macerated on the skins for 20 days in stainless steel tanks. After pressing, the wine feeds straight back in to tank where it rests for up to 8 months, followed by a further 3 months of ageing in the bottle before release on the maket. This is unfiltered and only 20
mg/L of sulphites were added at the time of
bottling.
Tasting Note This is pale and fragrant with lots of energy. It is filled with bergamot, wild currants and rose petal. Tannins are textured and balanced out by the fresh intensity.
Panta Rhei
Vintage 2020
Style Red
Region Roero, Piedmont
Varieties Malvasia di Schierano Don Bosco
ABV 13%
Soils Clay, sandstone, grey & bue marl
Farming Biodynamic (not certified)
Winemaking Panta Rhei is an ancient Greek saying from the philosopher Heraclitus that literally translates to "everything flows", hence, everything changes. Panta Rhei is produced from different grapes every year with a revolutionary vinification. In 2020 it was Malvasia di Schirano grapes, hand-harvested on the 18th of September and fully d
e-stemmed to spontaneously ferment on the skins in old
open oak tonneau for 11 months. Ageing lasted one
month in stainless steel. This is unfiltered and only 20 mg/L of sulphites are added
during the bottling phase.
Tasting Note Dried strawberry, wet earth, bruised blueberry, tea leaves and dried herbs. Nice grip on the palate.
Utopia
Vintage 2022
Style Red
Region Roero, Piedmont
Varieties Moscato Nero
ABV 11.5%
Soils Clay, sandstone
Farming Biodynamic (not certified)
Winemaking Manual harvest on September 9th using small crates of 15kg. Spontaneous fermentation in a 300-litre amphora. The must stays on the skins for 8 months, avoiding any aggressive extraction technique (no punch downs, nor pump overs), but rather maceration like an infusion. Pressed and rested in tank for a month until bottling without filtration and the tiniest amount of SO2 (20mg/L).
Tasting Note
Fos
Vintage 2022
Style Red
Region Roero, Piedmont
Varieties Pelaverga
ABV 12%
Soils Clay marls, sand, limestone
Farming Biodynamic (not certified)
Winemaking Pelaverga is harvested on the 10th of September and lightly crushed before feeding into a 300-litre amphora where it is fermented. It spends 8 months on the skins before coming off the amphora to be pressed and bottled after a short settling phase in tank. Bottled unfiltered, unfined and with just 20mg/L of added sulphites.
Tasting Note
Chaos
Vintage 2018
Style Sweet
Region Roero, Piedmont
Varieties Field blend
ABV 15%
Soils Clay, sandstone
Farming Biodynamic (not certified)
Winemaking Chaos is much more than just a name for this dessert wine, it's an entire project they refer to as “The vineyard of Chaos". Intentionally, is one of the first vineyard planted, where rows of white and red varieties are mixed in no specific order. Nobody will ever know the true composition of Chaos as the percentages of each grape will change over the years and depending on the yields of the passing vitnages. Manual harvest on October 29th using small 5kg crates. Soft pressing followed by fermentation in used oak barrels for 30 months.
Tasting Note A savoury aromatic sweet wine filled with dried fruit notes hints of marmalade and cedar spice.