The 2013 growing season in Novello was one of the longest on record, starting out with a chilly spring followed by a mostly dry and sunny summer and then cool nights during harvest. The conditions were nearly ideal for the long, slow ripening of the nebbiolo in Bricco Pernice, a five-acre plot on a limestone-rich hilltop in the Ravera cru. Three-quarters of the vines are 50 years old, and after a green harvest during which vintner Valter Fissore drops as much as half the clusters, each vine produces just over two pounds of fruit. The result is a wine that?s concentrated yet balanced and elegant: The red cherry flavors are fresh and vibrant, coiled around dense, taut tannins and laced with notes of white pepper and cool mineral tones. This is an exciting wine to try now for its sheer power and energy, and one to revisit over the next two decades as it continues to evolve.
