Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/859549
12 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } AUGUST/SEPTEMBER { northern Italy } Piecing Together the Piedmont Puzzle THREE VINTAGES ARE THE PERFECT STORM FOR NEBBIOLO COLLECTORS story and photos by Alfonso Cevola A 100-year-old bottle in the cellars of Pio Cesare. The view from the tower of Barbaresco. ITALY IS IN A FULL-BLOWN GOLDEN AGE of wine. After thousands of years, it has arrived in the Promised Land. In particular, three vintages in Piedmont have bestowed a largess upon wine lovers almost to the point of excess. It really doesn't get any better than this. This was driven home to me in April, at Vinitaly and in Piedmont, where I tasted countless Nebbiolos. Enthusiasts and beverage directors take note: Some hel - laciously good wines await you. 2015 It wasn't the Italians who first clued me in to this vintage; earlier in the year I tasted through a range of 2015 red Burgundies and was blown away. The French release their Burgundies earlier than their Italian cousins let go of their Barolos and Barbarescos, and I hoped once I dug into those Piemontese cellars I'd find similar energy, intensity and potential. I wasn't disappointed.