Outstanding savoury expression of Nebbiolo from the mountainous village of Carema, bordering Valle d'Aosta in north west Italy. Red fruit notes underpin the powerful but silky tannins and the long spicy finish is complex, rewarding and sensationally statuesque. A commanding wine.

Small is never a word to use when describing any wine made from the Nebbiolo grape variety but it does fit aptly for Carema DOC, one of the greatest wines to pass my lips so far this year. Not that it is small in taste or lacks for flavour (far from it) but the volumes made are minuscule compared to other regions. Only 55 thousand bottles are produced.
The producer is a quality focussed wine cooperative, which makes sense, given that Carema is a small village and the area can only produce limited volumes of Nebbiolo each year. Cantina dei Produttori Nebbiolo di Carema is renowned for producing excellent wines and this is an excellent example.

* Carema was one of first wines from Piedmont to attain Controlled Designation of Origin status when it was awarded DOC in July 1967.