Next to the small town of Barbaresco I hesitantly drove around the hilltop town of Neive seeking out the cantina of Bruno Giacosa (producer of wines and sparkling wines).

But the steep slopes are better for growing nebbiolo than extending this hill town so I eventually found his advertised office address, and that turned out to be the warehouse and packing building (again a very old one).

So Bruno’s production facility was soon located elsewhere in Neive, and I was greeted by a smiling, quietly spoken assistant winemaker, Roberto Garbarino. He had done past vintages at Nautilus and Rapaura Vintners in New Zealand, so he knew the sorts of New World questions to expect on this visit.

The first intrigue was the level of the production of white wine on this property. It’s made from arneis, the hero grape of the Roero region which grows this stuff.

Giacosa makes 110,000 bottles, mainly for the US market, and now it comes from 40 small growers. This varietal has been made here for 35 years.

Bruno, now 81, was previously a wine broker before he commenced to invest in vineyards. So he knew his way around the vineyards, both good ones and bad ones.

Total production is 400,000 bottles; Barolo is 30,000, Barbaresco is also 30,000 bottles.

His wines now come under two banners: Falletto di Bruno Giacosa which are his own vineyards (24 hectares) and the more simpler label Bruno Giacosa which is grape grower supplied.

“The numerous growers have only hand shake contracts, and continue to supply white grapes spot on specification for our style. It’s the easiest part of the vintage, one month before harvest we start sampling, and all the grapes come in at expected ripeness,” adds Roberto.

Bruno Giacosa Roero Arneis 2009, (90) 13%, USD 22, is delightful white wine, pale emerald green which glints in the glass, has a fresh nose of international standard, fermentation perfume from cultured yeast, then a clean, juicy palate, mild flavoured and tight, also dry.

The wine is bottled in the fifth month after vintage (February) and sold thereafter.

The other big grape grower supplied wine is in fact a sparkling; traditional method vintage dated pinot noir, aged three years on less, supplied from the cooler sites in Lombardia’s Oltrepo Pavese.

Bruno Giacosa Spumante Extra Brut 2006, (87), 13%, USD 30, has been made for 40 years, so no doubt this modest style has a firm following of the plainer types of pinot fizz. Production is 30,000 bottles, not made by whole bunch pressing, left very dry at 4 g/L residual sugar.

Bruno Giacosa Spumante Rose 2007, (90), 13%, USD 35, is lovely wine, it has personality from its smart base wine making, ample yeast aging, and now a building complexity, sugar 5 g/L. 5000 bottles were made, and it looks like the winemaking was a little more venturesome here.

Bruno Giacosa Nebbiolo d’Alba Valmaggiore 2008, (88),14%, USD 25, is not wine from the south but a compilation of growers from Monteu Roero, Montaldo Roero and Vezza d’Alba; a northern end blend; it’s very good, some vines are over 50 years old, fruity, soft, plump but ripe.

Falletto di Bruno Giacosa Asili Barbaresco 2007 (91), 14.5%, USD 90, was from a vineyard supplying grapes for a long time, and 20 years ago Bruno bought it. There are five owners of the Asili vineyard. Has cherry colour, a little dumb on nose, herbs but a very ripe, very big mouthful of tannin, though they remain powdery. This is a high sand content vineyard (20 per cent).

Roberto calls this a wine with fruitiness and balance; it finds agreement with drinkers from northern Europe, particularly with those drinking the wine at 5-7 years of age (2012-2014). Such buyers describe the wine as “classical”.

Producers experiencing the very ripe 2007 vintage have seen many of their Piemontese nebbiolos quite a deal chewy and hyped on richness; and a few have strayed up to the 15% alcohol mark. They are big wines, not entirely characteristic of milder-mannered nebbiolo.

Falletto di Bruno Giacosa Le Rocce White Label Barolo 2007, (96), 14.5%, USD125, cherry but brown edges; has nose intensity and is sweet smelling, it’s nose power and cleverly anticipated ripeness, the taste is tending to bitterness, that’s how concentrated the wine is, and the tannins are powdery – suggests softness but 2-3 years until the powder receives and the palate silk appears.

Falletto di Bruno Giacosa Le Rocce White Label Barolo 2005, (92), 14.5%, USD 125, has mature colour, spice yet a little closed, and it tastes like a fast maturing vintage, it is soft now, so the acidity comes up to greet the finish, a sure sign, and it has the right balance.

Falletto di Bruno Giacosa Le Rocce Red Label Barolo 2005, (96), 14.5%, USD 150, is cherry-purple with browns, has a lot of character (three days breathing), barley sugar, sweet, honey ripeness, then a long silky palate, all in line, not unlike the balance that great pinot noir can accomplish. This is a pinot reminder.

White Label is the standard bottling, Red Label is regarded as Riserva standard, the last releases of Red being in 2004. There will be some in 2007 too.

So driving up the hill of Neive (where Bruno Giacosa’s cellars are not found) I had cause to dwell more on these great wines. And muse that this is probably the reason that the tasting panel at Gambero Rosso gave this great man “Winery of the Year” for 2010. The wine which GR really liked was Asili Vineyard 2005.

There is always a terrific amount of respect to be had for an eccentric style of nebbiolo winemaking; and I found it at Bartolo Mascarello, with winemaking conducted like a traditional orchestra by its owner, Maria Teresa Mascarello.

But then it was at via Roma, number 17 in Barolo village that Maria Teresa produced large barrel samples of 2009 and 2008 Barolos, a terrific opportunity to get a handle on emerging wines at younger ages than other producers who poured from older bottled vintages.

2010 was not testable, it was on skins.

She says “this is an artisan cantina, the nebbiolo from the four highly respected sites are simply harvested when deemed ripe and the origin wines co-fermented. There is no effort to separate between the 5 hectares of sites in La Morra, Bussia, Cannubi and Serralunga (0.2 ha), purchased in 1918 or since”.

2009 Barolo out of big barrel: finished malo-lactic fermentation in August this year-quite recent really, so not long ago SO2 had been added for the second time (and Maria Teresa went to great pains to estimate what minimal SO2 went in).

I felt she needed more or could be more precautionary. But this is her cellar.

This wine was quite bland in colour (a nebbiolo thing), nose dumb from recent handling (again no real problem) yet the palate was long and fine, some bitter almond fruit intensity which was great, and a wine quite drinkable now.

Why age longer in barrel? Well that is the tradition practised by such artisans, probably part of a formula yet well tested.

The 2009 was not an intensely concentrated vintage, so that’s why a new Piemontese recruit like me would be tipping this wine to be a bit short. However, after a wrap over the knuckles I learnt that the house style was about elegance, not power which comes slowly with aging in bulk.

2008 Barolo out of another big barrel (Maria Teresa produces a ladder, climbing on to the tall barrel to collect our tasting samples).

This wine has established itself some more while in barrel longer. Part of the intensity of this wine is the vintage – it’s a cracker. The wine is a class act: complex nose down the floral, honey, barley sugar direction (ripeness on the nose), has a long palate shape, gentle warmth, very, very fine on the tannins, has nothing astringent yet the flavour goes on forever.

I cannot understand why this wine needs another year in barrel before its bottled. Probably nebbiolo heresy to suggest such an act! Here goes: it’s the drying out of the wine, and its fruit to some extent which causes some decent astringency once this wine is sold!

Going back to the artisan principles, Barolo in this cantina is just progressively aged before it is sold, and all is expected to come naturally with the least of intervention. Malo-lactic may be short, delayed or prolonged, and it all happens when the wine does it. No forcing cultures here, just the waiting bacteria sitting in the barrels from previous wines.

“It will happen in the wine life cycle. There are no pressures of the market here, this business makes 30,000-35,000 bottles each year, supporting the family and workers,” says Maria Teresa.

Each wine spends two years in oak (barrels 1500-3500 litres) which are up to 34 years old, then goes through assembly and bottling by August in the third year (before vintage), then receives bottle age up to its four years, and then sale commences. Magnums receive a year extra.

I did not taste 2007. Bartolo Mascarello Barolo 2006, (96), 14%, USD 100, is cherry with the brown edges (nebbiolo!), nose is expressive, the total package of traditional funk (including brett), herbs, honey, mint, a very powerful palate, violets, big tannin though not yet settled.

Bartolo Mascarello Barolo 2005, (94), 14%, USD 90, is mild coloured, has the toffee ripeness, roses, followed by the strong skin aromas (must have been a decent maceration), has svelte tannins, softness and elegance (opposite to the slower-evolving 2006).

Later we sat in the wine library room. Its starts 1955, 1958, 1964, 1974, 1985, 1988, 1996, 1999, 2000, and there were 2007s added. Usually each great year starts as 1000 bottles plus magnums. Wines are sold off to restaurants over time on request.

Recorking occurs every 20 years.

Colorado-born Alan Emil Manley, and cellar hand is our contact with the English-speaking world, working every vintage here since 1993. “Here it is all about tradition. We even practice the ancient practice of passing the freisa (a less well-known Piemontese grape) over the lees and pomace of the nebbiolo to pick up tannin,” he explains.

The following day, Bartolo Mascarello 2006 had collected 3+ glasses for the 2011 Gambero Rosso awards (the most authorative national assessment review in Italy; only 30-odd were awarded for next year), but the media-shy Maria Teresa asked Alan to travel to Rome for the presentation ceremony.

Maria Teresa lost her father, the famous Barolo man Bartolo Mascarello in March 2006, so her first vintage in control was that year. Her dad had been confined to a wheelchair for an extended period following an industrial accident.

To contribute in a special way he hand-painted labels, not as an artist but more as a naive art imitator (he swore he could not paint). Today over 300 colourful pictorial labels are in existence, cleverly added to any sales over a dozen bottles.

To read more of the intrigue of older Bartolo Mascarello and its history: http://networks.ecse.rpi.edu/~vastola/wine/mascarellob/ or follow Barolo di Barolohttp://www.barolodibarolo.com/inglese/scheda.asp?id_azienda=11&tipo=caratteristiche

The tiny town of Barolo is still a very busy place in mid-October. Grapes are all in but the last of the Americano influx to hit the enotecas was in full swing. It was a sunny afternoon to walk along the cobbled street and watch transactions under way for lots of Euros for scantly-heard of single vineyard Barolos.

But evening temperatures drop very quickly, and at departure on October 22, the signs of the first frost were there, and autumn colours starting on the well-managed, greener vineyards, while the more stressed ones were well into leaf drop.

I met a terrific chap local chap; Enzo Brezza who started making the family’s wines in 1989. The cellars, the family hotel (called Brezza too) and restaurant are all in one, on the main road out of town towards Alba.

As you do in these wonderful old cantinas, descend quite quickly into the basement, which of course is the original winery storage cellars gouged out of rock and lined with stone to house those original big oval barrels from 1885.

That makes Enzo the fourth generation family winemaker.

Standing in the original cellar Enzo says, “My production is from only my vineyards; 23.5 hectares of which 16.5 ha is in production. That is growing nebbiolo, barbera and dolcetto. I do have one ha of chardonnay which is my only white wine, but this is not a white wine area.”

Brezza Dolcetto d’Alba 2009 San Lorenzo, (89), 14%, USD 11, is grown on the lesser soil, the better provides for the nebbiolo, so it’s very sandy, yet that has not diminished this wine. The vineyard site is the Cannubi vineyards side of San Lorenzo in Barolo. Nose is earthy; taste is morello cherry and quite soft and juicy.

Dolchetto is stainless steel made, bottled in April 2010. For a country of inhabitants who drink wine daily, this variety and its various other simply-made brands are regarded as making good, every day wine. I agree.

Brezza Barbera d’Alba 2009, (90), 14%, USD 22, comes from their Santa Rosalia vineyard, has some pippy fruit aromas, is earthy, a good chew without being tannic, and has some great character.

Barbera in Piemonte is regarded as the low tannin, high acid variety of the region, and only rarely is more tannin added via oak aging to change its natural structure. Consequently most barbera sees stainless steel during ferment and aging, which is usually not very long either, followed by early bottling, early release.

Brezza Barbera d’Alba 2008, Cannubi Muscatel vineyard (89), 14%, USD 26, is aged one year in new oak before release as a 2-y-o wine. It has a terrific violet colour which is attractive, is juicy and earthy, and a good long palate tasting of black cherries. Muscatel (non-Italian spelling), white grapes were planted there pre-Phylloxera (1880s) and hence the retained name.

Since 2002 all Brezza early release reds, dolcetto and barbera are sealed under the German-origin ground glass bottle stoppers which accounted for the high level of freshness (and my high points) of these wines.

Brezza Langhe Nebbiolo 2009, (89), 14%, USD 17, is made from the single rose clone of nebbiolo, and hence its paler colour, made in stainless steel and bottled early to preserve its rose/floral aromas. It’s nice and simple.

Brezza Nebbiolo d’Alba 2008, (91) 14%, USD 20, comes from seven km away from the cantina, in the regional split between the two premier nebbiolo regions; Barolo (11 villages) and Barbaresco (4 villages), so that it has the less auspicious generic name of Alba wine attached.

This has one year in old large barrels before bottling; it’s terrific, lots of nose, violets, licorice, oak too, but quite advanced colour and big juicy fruit. This is Brezza’s sole generic nebbiolo which is a very easy drink.

Larger brands buy grapes from a collection of regions and villages to make their regional Barolo. In the case of Brezza all Barolo origin nebbiolo is single, named vineyard, usually making 6-7,000 bottles annually.

Brezza Sarmassa Nebbiolo 2006, (91) 14%, USD 90 has a traditional nose expressing the old oak aging, the palate is fine but growing in charm.

Brezza Sarmassa Nebbiolo 2005, (92) 14%, USD 90, ruby colour, a majestic nose of roses, minty, herbal, vibrant tannins with some of the green mint residues, now needing some time in bottle to go to the next stage of subtlety.

There was some discussion with Enzo about the evolution of nebbiolo, particularly in single vineyards or such pristine wines which reward drinkers by longer aging. What is the sensory chemistry?

Enzo says ”The primary evolution takes place in bottle over the first three years, or six years on from harvest, and they are well appreciated at this time, then there is a dip in nose or palate or both where hibernation occurs, and wines will come out of this in 5-10 years for appreciation at the higher plane.”

This explains the bottle age phases of nebbiolo. Also beware of drinking top bottles in restaurants; and controlled breathing takes place best over 2-3 days. So a freshly opened bottle may never give the best.

This was often the case on winery visits where makers could show a range of vintages because the wines had been held over from previous days’ tastings and had completely evolved.

The single vineyard nebbiolo spend their first year in 5-10 yo big barrels (1500-3000 litres), the second in 10-15 yo ones. Enzo wishes to avoid oak tannin but wants the oxidative softening. Barrels are replaced after 15 years, one annually made of Slovenian oak.

Brezza Cannubi Nebbiolo 2006, (94) 14%, USD 90, smells of cedar and roses, the former from oak, very fresh, very young, nice, long, green mint, silky tannin, yet warming.

Brezza Bricco Sarmassa Nebbiolo 2006, (94), 14.5%, USD 90, is just full of roses, elevated by its volatility, a very concentrated nebbiolo showing oodles of still firm tannin, aged this longer. 5440 bottles and 780 magnums made.

Bricco Sarmassa is the top part of the Sarmassa vineyard; in some years the two are combined, where there is no quality difference (the highest elevation portion sometimes excels).

Brezza Cannubi Nebbiolo 2003, (90), 15%, USD 90, is a very aged colour, browning considerably but no doubt that does not phase Enzo, this is normal for nebbiolo, the nose is very baked as in molasses, the Piemontese call this “balsamic freshness”, and it is very, very soft, though high on mouth sweetness.

Enzo rates his recent vintages for me: 2003 (hot, uncharacteristic, unsure of ageability), 2004 (elegant, so a long classic aging arc ahead), 2005 (vertical; difficult year from rain, greener tannins though ok), 2006 (classic year, same maturing profile as 2004); 2007 (rounder wine, meaning hotter and wines very concentrated, bigger therefore shorter in the classic age cycle), 2008 and 2009 remain in barrel. www.brezza.it

Close to the centro of Alba is the venerable company Prunotto, established in 1904, and originally formed by Alfredo Prunotto in 1923.

He bought a bottle shop which presumably made its own collective of wines known as “Vini delle Langhe” or in Aussie speak Langhe Wines; Langhe being the general collective geographical allocation to all the top red grape regions on the southern side of the Tanaro River which bisects the region.

To the north is the Roero Hills known mainly for the white arneis and volumes of the early-drinking barbera variety.

On a sunny October afternoon I visited Prunotto’s new cellars (relocated in 1972 says Tiziana Gallo, my guide and commercial presenter) now on Alba’s outskirts where it is easier to receive grapes than it was in the historic city centre (with its narrow streets, restricted traffic and wine grape deliveries which have anti-tourism needs).

Tiziana says the season’s last harvest was just in, as a tractor and trailer pulls up on the weighbridge beside our tasting window, loaded with selected, black-sheened, hand-harvested nebbiolo.

A tour of Prunotto’s barrel storage below ground told me about how the company’s red wines are aged; as this contributes so much to the original character and aroma of the young wines, and significantly to the aging trajectory of the more highly regarded vineyard wines.

Slovenian oak casks in the range 2000-5000 litres made by the Venetian coopers Gamba are essentially used, plus hogsheads (300 litres) and puncheons (500 litres) of French and Hungarian oak (owner Antinori appears to have a cooperage interest in Hungary). There has also been a sliver of small American oak used for the past two years.

Prunotto Roero Arneis 2009, (89), 12.5%, USD 26 from the southern Monteu Roero sites is a delightful drink. Unwooded, all the sole grape variety, made in stainless steel with cultured yeasting, it is fruity in the lemon/nectarine, crunchy palate fashion. Just so good to salivate over with a plate of Piemontese raw veal topped with tuna sauce (tonnato).

Prunotto Pian Romualdo Barbera d’Alba 2006, (90), 13.5%, USD 61.50, is a single vineyard barbera from the Monforte region in Alba, owned since 1955, and released for the first time as a single wine from 1961 (Prunotto’s first ever single vineyard release). It is cherry-red, has a serious nose now that some small oak has been applied since 1996. The wine has 50 percent large, 50 percent small

barrel aging for 10 months then off to bottle for eight months before sale is considered. Modern barbera: fresh pippy fruit, oak sweet, acid at its normal high level, soft grainy tannin gives style.

Prunotto Costamiole Barbera d’Asti 2007, (92), 14%, USD 46, is a more recent single vineyard barbera from the Asti sub-region, a 27 hectare vineyard in the Agliano region of Nizza after this sub-zone became recognised in 2004-2005. This wine has substantial new oak aging, 100 percent in barrique and the winemaking cleverly manages the balance between fruit and oak sweetness. Aging profile is 3-5 years.

Prunotto Occhetti Nebbiolo d’Alba 2007, (90), 13.5%, USD 28 is a single vineyard wine from Monteu Roero, arneis country, pretty swish nebbiolo regional wine, has lighter colour as a vineyard trait, is made traditionally with that “old dumb oak” nose from 70 percent in large oak, 30 percent small oak (2^nd and 3^rd fill). This is soft nebbiolo, shows my telltale “baked/treacle” character from a warm year like 2007 where aging on the palate is now obvious.

Prunotto Barbaresco 2006, (92), 13.5%, USD 47.50, steps also into the traditional “oak-seasoned” aroma characters, good perfume still (the rose clone jutting out), lots of tannin, a touch minty which is long and green. This is a blend of grower vineyards from the region, 95 percent large oak, 5 percent small, one year in barrel, one year in bottle (which accounts for its liveliness-less oak time, fresher wine). The rationale with oak is with high tannin parcels, why add more from oak tannin from new barrels, just use large stuff to allow softening time. Age span 8-10 years, (2014-2016), the essence of Barbaresco type wine.

Prunotto Barolo 2006, (92), 13.5%, USD 54.50, cherry red, never too dense in sync with the nebbiolo grape, oak sweet nose, spices, roses, has concentration, palate quite fine and quite elegant, surprisingly less tannin than its Barbaresco running mate. The Barolo is a grape supplier wine from vineyards in Monforte, Serralunga and Castiglione Ferrato.

Prunotto Bric Turot Barbaresco 2006, (95), 13.5%, USD 63, is a 5 hectare single vineyard wine, has some special qualities, including freshness and modernity, one year in barrel (10% barriques), the rest bottle and the careful handling shows. It has subtlety, still sweet oak and long, unobtrusive, silky tannins which make it ultra-fine.

Prunotto Bussia Barolo 2006, (92), 13.5%, USD 81, more old fashioned, is a 5.5 hectare single vineyard wine, lots of funk collected from its old barrels, complex, soft and long; supple, now aging a little, and I suspect, an earlier maturer than its Barbaresco mate.

Alfredo Prunotto retired in 1956, sold to a younger winemaker Beppe Colla, who later sold to Antinori in 1989, who added international distribution from that time, and winemaking responsibility from 1995 when Beppe retired. www.prunotto.it