Description

Vineyard: The Bricco dei Merli vineyard is 1.8 hectares, 300m a.s.l., with a density of 4,500 vines per hectare. Grapes from the 2007 vintage were harvested end of September, start of October.

Winemaking Process: 100% Barbera grapes. Fermentation in stainless steel, temperature-controlled tanks, with automatic pump-over. Wine aged 12 months in large Slovenian oak barrels and barriques, over lees for six months. Refined in bottles for six months before release. Bottles produced: 10,000

Alcohol Content: 14%

Tasting Note

Tasting Note: Bright ruby red in colour with clear crimson highlights. Rich aromas and flavours of morello cherry and plum jam, with notes of rose, forest undergrowth and oriental spices. Medium-bodied, balanced structure accompanied by freshness and a soft finish. A typically Piedmontese wine, well-structured and good for ageing, in which wood and fruit blend to keep the characteristics and typicality of the grape varietal intact.

Serving Temperature: Serve at 18°C.

Ageability: If stored poperly the wine can age well for 3-7 years.

About the Grape

Barbera: Italy's third most planted dark-berried grape behind Sangiovese and Montepulciano. Known in Italy's Piedmont region as the "people's wine", mainly for its versatility (it can be made into relatively inexpensive versions as well as long-lived, high-priced wines) but also for its deep colour, charming fruit flavours, and balancing acidity. It is also grown in Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna, but not as well as in Piedmont. We've tasted versions from Australia and California, but we recommend taking a pass.

Elvio Cogno

Selected one of the "Top 100 Wineries of the Year", by prestigious Wine & Spirits Magazine (October 2009)

The Elvio Cogno società agricola s.s.winery sits on the top of Bricco Ravera, a hill near Novello in the Langhe area of Piedmont, one of the eleven communes in which Barolo is produced. The cellar is housed in an 18th-century manor farm surrounded by 10 hectares of land, nine of which of which occupied by vineyards.

In 1990, after a long and fruitful partnership with Marcarini at La Morra, Elvio Cogno bought a splendid historical farm in the family village and restored it to its former glory. Today the winery nestles in a breathtaking landscape between the hills and the sky. At sunset on clear days, a wonderful turquoise horizon frames the farm like a painting. Hence the name of this exceptional wine land: ‘Petorchino’, or blue feet.

The Cogno family has been making wine in the Langhe area for four generations: the values of history and tradition handed down by Elvio Cogno to his daughter Nadia and her husband Valter Fissore. Now, through careful vineyard management (without pushing things to an extreme or forcing) with low yields per hectare and respect for the organic balance of the vine, Valter and Nadia Cogno cultivate rigorously autochthonous varietals: nebbiolo, barbera, dolcetto, and nascetta. The sparing use of technology meaning long submerged-cap and spontaneous fermentations, decanting, and careful aging on wood to optimize the production process without altering what mother nature creates.

The result is high-quality grapes, balanced wines: rich but not excessively so, amenable but elegant, with a classic character and feel. Elvio Cogno wines seek to transmit emotions, to be remembered. They cheer the soul of anyone who tastes them with enthusiasm and sincerity.

Their efforts were rewarded in 2009 when their fourth Barolo – the 2004 Barolo "Vigna Elena"– received the prestigious 3 glass (out of 3) standing by Italy’s Gambero Rosso magazine. The 2004 Barolo Ravera DOCG received the same award in 2008. Robert Parker released a strong list of reviees in October 2009 as well ("Wine Advocate", Issue 185), including 94pts for the 2004 Barolo Vigna Elena DOCG and 93+pts for the new (single-vineyard) 2005 Barolo Bricco Pernice DOCG.

Address:
Elvio Cogno società agricola s.s.
Località Ravera, 2 - 12060 Novello (CN) - Italy

Phone number: +390173744006

Email: elviocogno@elviocogno.com

Website: http://www.elviocogno.com

Visits: Will receive visitors appointment -- open 8.00-12.00 and 14.00-18.00, Monday to Friday. Weekends by appointment only.

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