Dardi Le Rose Barolo Bussia

Established in 1993 by Tino Colla (brother of the legendry Beppe Colla) and his niece Federica, Poderi Colla is very much a family affair and continues the Colla family's three centuries of winemaking heritage in northern Italy.

Tino and Federica believe in a non-interventionist approach to winemaking, to give each wine a unique expression of site and vintage, and they take sustainability and the environment as seriously as their wines.

They produce wines from three outstanding sites in Alba and cover nearly the entire spectrum of Alba styles - using their own grapes from vineyards in Bricco del Drago, Tenuta Roncaglie (Barbaresco) and Tenuta Dardi le Rose (Barolo). The wines are balanced, rich and complex.

In 1980, Luciano Degiacomi, the original owner of the Cascine Drago vineyard, a pioneer of sustainable viticulture and friend of the Colla family, made this statement about his viticultural practices: “These wines are produced from grapes coming from traditionally farmed vineyards, with no chemical herbicides, defended from animal and vegetable pests using ‘Lotta Guidata’. This method (literally ‘controlled struggle’) allows healthy production, respecting the environment and human health, through the reduced and targeted use of the most appropriate treatments.” This ethos is still in force today.

The aim has always been to make the smallest impact on the environment and the purest possible wines. Since 1995, Colla has taken part in Piemonte's agricultural environmental programme, modified with a more restrictive internal protocol governing integrated management and environmental sustainability. The use of fertiliser is limited and occasional, mainly organic, using worm compost produced by a small and entirely reliable firm. Only if vines are suffering from specific deficiencies does it use chemical fertilisers permitted for organic farming. Weed control is achieved by mechanical methods, except in rainy years or in steeper vineyards with older and more irregularly shaped vines where mechanical methods cannot be used and which would cause unnecessary air pollution and soil compaction. As for canopy management and green harvesting, all the work is done manually to balance and limit production and to facilitate aeration, thus curbing the formation of moulds that could damage the health of the grapes. Poderi Colla received SNQPI (Sistema di Qualità Nazionale Produzione Integrata) certification in 2019.

Nebbiolo,

This very special wine is from a single vineyard called Dardi le Rose, on the hill of Bussia, a historically renowned site for great Barolo. The vines are grown at 300 - 350 metres above sea level, with a southern /southwesterly exposure.

The grapes are harvested mid-October. The grapes are destalked and pressed, and the must is macerated on the skins for approx 15 days - it undergoes malolactic fermentation. In the spring the wine matures in casks of Slavonian and French oak, part new, for a period of 24 to 28 months.

This fine and classic, single vineyard, Barolo is a testament to the Colla family's Dardi le Rose site on the slopes of the Bussia hill - one of the best for the production of full-bodied Barolo with the potential to age.

Ripe meaty nose with hints of dried figs, leather, spice and appealing berry aromas. The palate is complex with warm, plummy fruit and a herbal, spicy character. The fine tannic structure and level of acidity means that, whilst drinking now, this wine will age and improve for many years.

Perfect with a big veal chop or good buttery egg pasta with shaved black truffle. Also works well with particularly rich fish dishes such as roast turbot.