"Nebbiolo is a diva in the vineyard: picky about soil, fussy about sun exposure… You don’t plant Nebbiolo. You negotiate with it" [Vinerra]
"Malidea" - "bad idea," in Italian - is an apt name for Nebbiolo planted in the heart of Barbera country (which Monferrato undeniably is). Barbera is famously adaptable, capable of thriving in even the most difficult environments. But to develop ideal tension and complexity in Monferrato, Nebbiolo needs a number of elements to align in almost perfect harmony: south facing exposure on an elevated slope, calcareous marl soils, and a long, measured growing season with significant diurnal shifts. Fabrizio Iuli's home is such a place.
In the northern end of Monferrato in Piedmont, nestled among dramatic hills before the Po River plain where the Alps are visible on clear days, the town of Montaldo di Cerrina (with all 92 of its residents) is largely defined by Fabrizio Iuli and his family. His grandfather Gioacchino planted the first vines here in the 1930s, while his grandmother ran a small osteria from their living room, the only place for the locals to gather and where the wine would flow freely.
Today, Fabrizio is the only winemaker in Montaldo, his 35ha estate essentially a library of the region's chief, and sometimes forgotten, varieties. Since 1998, he's celebrated nearly lost varieties like Baratuciat and Slarina, alongside Barbera, Grignolino, and Pinot Nero, all organic and untouched by chemicals. The vineyards are marked by the kind of biodiversity you'd expect in rural Piedmont: white truffles, dense forest, and wild boar.
What sets Fabrizio apart in this quiet corner of Piedmont? His devotion to his small parcel of Nebbiolo, a notoriously challenging variety to cultivate and one that makes up only a small percentage of Monferrato's planted vineyards.
Armed with a lifelong love of Nebbiolo and one of the region's few sites well suited for it, Fabrizio was eager to take on the challenge. The small parcel next to his family's cantina was planted to Nebbiolo in 1999, and since its inaugural commercial release a few years later, has proven to be ideally situated to coax well perfumed fruit, chewy minerality, and inviting structure from the vines. If Barolo and Barbaresco produce Nebbiolo built for the cellar, Iuli makes Nebbiolo for the here and now, showcasing the variety in its purest, most charming form.
Macerated for nearly a full month in concrete before 16 months in large Slavonian casks, this has all the structure and drying tannins you'd expect from Nebbiolo, but with brighter, more immediately accessible red fruit, especially from the classic, fresh 2021 vintage. Think waves of wild cherry and woodland strawberry, crushed rose, and raspberry leaf, grounded by struck black earth and tar.
A Nebbiolo offering immediate pleasure and versatility, equally as well-suited for a grilled, fatty ribeye as it is with more delicate fare. An ideal red as spring turns to summer.
