“The 2023 vintage was both challenging and remarkably complex. Only those with great
sensitivity and a profound and intimate knowledge of their territories will be able to achieve
successful results.”
Mario Fontana

In Langa, the winter of 2022/2023 was colder than the year before. It was also wetter. Two
winter snowfalls together with abundant spring and late summer rainfall contributed to
making up for the strong water deficit that we had suffered in the 2022 vintage.
The abundance of water stimulated the vegetative vigour of the plants in our vineyards and
helped in the formation of fragrant and full-bodied bunches of grapes. On the other hand, it
also created challenges, not least the need to combat the widespread prevalence of the vine
malady peronospora, a downy mildew fungus that sought to attack the vines especially
during the early stages of bud growth.
The harvest began around mid-September with first the Dolcetto grapes, followed by Barbera
towards the end of the month. Nebbiolo grapes for both the Langhe Nebbiolo and Barolo
wines were harvested in the first two weeks of October. However, it was not easy to manage
maturation times across the vineyards this year as there was a great deal of variation from one
vineyard to another. This meant that we had to carry out the harvest and respective
fermentations over several passes, thus lengthening the winemaking time, a process that was
both demanding and fatiguing.
Overall, the 2023 wines are pleasantly fresh and fruity, not too structured and balsamic, but
nonetheless captivating and attractive.
Trans. Marc Millon