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

Jason Brown from Moppity Vineyards in the Young area came by the other day. He has made a huge impression on the respect for this region by wine drinkers.

The family business has been wine retailing in Canberra but this was still a pioneer operation by Jason and Alicia. This couple’s main focus was to identify and establish a super-premium brand with the equivalent quality vineyard sited in a highly-regarded Australian region. He had the Eden Valley, Clare or Margaret River in mind.

It did not have to be a stones throw from Canberra.

Jason had been drawn to the hilltops region by McWilliams winemaker Martin Cooper who was obviously seeing the Barwang grapes and other regional fruit come through the company crushers. That excited Martin and his enthusiasm for the capability of high end red wine production was blowing off on other local Hilltops people.

The Brown’s original asset was a vineyard planted in 1973 by pioneer Pat Wickham; there was 4 hectares of shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, riesling and semillon plus more chardonnay and riesling planted in ’80s.

Moppity Park was the original property name, sited in the Parish of Moppity, with an address of Moppity Road. It sold in the mid-90s to a consortium with links to Hardys (then an Australian owned company), where it had grown to 70 hectares; the same varieties had been bulked up plus merlot planted.

“There was never enough water infrastructure and water was in short supply. an area short on rain, the 150 ML dam leaked, losing 2/3 rds of its water,” said Jason.

The property was in receivership and purchased as a distressed asset in 2002, eventually settled by the Browns in 2004.

So Moppity became a lifestyle in the making, though a tough one, as this branch of the Brown family was less interested in the retail of wine and set out to distribute their own brands throughout Australia. Hence my encounter in Brisbane.

“Here we had the potential to be over-extended; I wanted a great vineyard and I wanted great wines. Hilltops had the potential and this Moppity property was going to auction in 2002, yet it looked unaffordable even though we were familiar now with the region,” he said.

“It was past my initial intention of a hobby farm; there was a tender to make. I found out that Helm Wines had bought grapes from the old shiraz vines and had been very happy with the result.

“The best of the region had yet to come, so we were in on the ground floor, we had found a vineyard. My wife Alicia had grown up in Young, 12km away.

Well the recognition did come afterwards when grapes from this vineyard contributed to the 2009 Jimmy Watson trophy shiraz which was made in Canberra; a first for a long time that New South Wales-grown grapes had figured in this Melbourne award. Jason’s hunch was correct, and the focus on the Hilltops has stayed with many winedrinkers.

“We made a cheeky offer which took six months to negotiate, we then put a lot into the property to have it restored from the run down condition. We intended to make a small vintage and sell the rest.

“The Cooper Coffman business, Eden Road in Canberra, took all our fruit in 2007, with over-the-top pricing at $2500 per tonne when at the $800 mark normally, 2008 started a six year contract taking up to 3500 tonnes if available. When that business folded in 2008 I took over the bulk wines with a potential 30,000 cases a year, and I placed 25,000 dozen in the first year.”

He crushed 450 tonnes in 2009, then 500 in 2010, adding some pinot noir and chardonnay from Tumburumba.

The entry wine group is Lock and Key which has great sales as the escape route for Moppity. There is 2010 Chardonnay Pinot Noir (charmat), Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, 2008 Chardonnay, then 2009 Rose, Shiraz, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, all USD 14.

I tried the 2010 Riesling, 94, 11.5%, peachy; lemon, it develops early in the mouth, has citrus, long acidity, dry, 3.5 g. Then 2009 Shiraz 95, 14%, has a Winewise trophy and two golds, is nose rich and aromatic; has weighty smells, funky; yet low oak and warming flavours, contains a dab of viognier

There is an estate range of the same wine varieties, with sauvignon blanc from Orange and chardonnay from Tumburumba, Rose from shiraz, all USD 23.

Moppity Vineyards 2009 Estate Shiraz USD 23, 14%, has nose concentration, more age on nose than the Lock and Key Shiraz, it’s made mainly in puncheon (larger barrels), 25% is new barrel, the rest being 2,3 and 5 year-old barriques; it has up front fruit sweetness and tangy black fruit flavours, there have been four recent gold medals so the shiraz is doing well.

The Estate 2010 riesling is more serious than the Lock and Key wine; bone dry, has length as a small part was aged on solids in old barrel to impart textural complexity. “For us, thank goodness riesling sells, we have 6 ha of it,” said Jason

The final tier is Reserve 2008; USD 55; 14.5%, quite a hefty wine. It has 2.5% viognier, 10% whole bunches in the ferment; cold soaked for two weeks before ferment, cool ferment at production, all that saying a lot of work was done on the wine to extract the best character.

This wine lifts the profile of the Hilltops region. It’s had a trophy at the Sydney International as best medium bodied red; the winemaking has given it more texture than normal, diversity of flavour, length, and a jubey, cool flavour which persists. It’s blended from 10 different wines, part being the 37-year-old vines.

The follow-on wine, 2009, has four golds in New Zealand and the Sydney International, made the NSW Top 40 in 2010 and made best in class Winewise 2010. There is much to look forward to drink.

To Moppity Vineyards www.moppity.com.au

October time in Greve-in-Chianti appeared to be the end of the season for the folks in this part of Tuscany. Most of the grapes had been harvested by the first week of the month.

But not so at Antinori’s major 150 hectare vineyard and Tignanello winery at Santa Maria a Macerata, as only the early harvests of sangiovese had appeared.

“We are running 15-20 days late this autumn. This has been caused by the cool weather earlier in the season, some rain then and a little more now” says Veronica Mazzoni, Antinori’s learned publicist in Tuscany.

I cannot help but look at that Solaia hill on the property; first spied in 1989 when I first visited Tuscany, 55 hectares of cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc which was aged directly in barrique, and sold outside the region’s DOCG status (at higher prices too).

Well Solaia has continued on to greater things since then, and against more “international varietal Tuscan competition” of cabernet, franc, merlot, syrah and single vineyard merlot.

Antinori’s faith in Solaia was further galvanised in 2009 with the commissioning of a single, separate cellar . “There are 14 single batches/ vineyard blocks of cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc in this vineyard, and therefore there are 14 new open-fermenters to make it” Veronica explains.

Solaia making is all manual; green harvesting before veraison, hand harvesting, hand sorting of whole berries on sorting tables before whole berry fermentation. All with care.

The new wine has malo-lactic in third passage oak (an unusual practice) then maturation for 14-16 months in new barrels, French oak origin of course. I did not see the forests used but imagine the three providing coopers, Saury, Seguin Moreau and Nadalie are supplying mixes of oak types to Solaia’s style requirement.

Then there is a year in bottle before going into the release cycle. The 2007 IGT, USD 210, is about to be current, 75% cabernet, 20% sangiovese, 5% franc.

In fact the original winery was built in 1973 and Antinori wine staff were just commencing their second vintage in the renovated red cellar. And what a revolutionary collection of fermentation masterpieces.

There was a new feeling in the October air which was crisp, foggy and fresh. It was a visit to Frescobaldi in Chianti Rufina 25 kilometres north-east of Firenze (Florence).

The hillsides are the same: vegetated, rocky, austere, perfect hideouts for wild boar and all the game that inhabits. It is also the environment that the Florentines such as the 31 generations of Frescobaldis respect as the home of sangiovese.

Hosting me at Castello Nipozzano is Rufina-born Stephania Morello, the company’s tasting and sales specialist for all things Frescobaldi at the estate of over 800 hectares.

As is commonplace, portion is vines, portion olive (the three widely planted varieties-frantoio, moraiolo and leccino in Toscana), and the rest unplantable due to the rugged nature of the landscape-unlike most Australian regions.

Frescobaldi participate in the Laudemio extra virgin (EVO) olive oil project among 30 estates. My oil sample was delicious-glistening green, mild pepper, hay and slippery spice on typical Tuscan dry/crisp bread.

Stephania outlines how the property supports only red vines; sangiovese predominantly but also cabernet sauvignon, franc, merlot and petit verdot established by a long banished relative (forced otherwise to ply the wine trade in Bordeaux) who returned in the 1880s.

Unlike the southern hemisphere, vines stay in the ground about 40 years; after that they are grubbed and new selections planted. The interval between replanting can be up to five years, as fallowed soil is regenerated, and no doubt the organic additives allowed to ameliorate.

Unlike the Bolgheri region on the coast where Bordeaux varieties were only introduced in the 40s (Sassacaia), and moreso from the 80s, Nipozzano has more prehistory with these varieties, grown in 25 hectares at 300 m elevation.

However there are no centurion vines to be found from the continual replacement mindset.

The wine made as cabernet sauvignon (60%), merlot (25%), franc (12%) and verdot (3%) is Castello di Niponazzo Mormoreto 2007 IGT (90), USD 56, 14.5%, celebrating 25 years of continuous production of this wine.

It’s style is unashamedly bold: ripe cabernet of the chocolate type, spicy cabernet (as McLaren Vale does in Oz), fully ripe and supported by the ripe floral notes of merlot. Up to two years aging in mainly new barriques puts the additional tannins on the palate that the structure deserves.

Production annually is 30,000 bottles.

Montesodi is the pinnacle sangiovese over the past 30 years from the property; 20 hectares, is planted on a plateau facing south-west to intercept the most sun at 400 metres. It now contains 34 different sangiovese clones. The grapes are left to hang to super-ripeness, producing 35,000 bottles.

Montesodi Chianti Rufina 2006 (96), USD 42, 14.5%, is sangiovese, single vineyard, low crop, high density planting which shows in the wine. Colour is dense, nose is dense, the wine focus is vanillin from a high use of new barrique, black cherry fruit intensity which concludes on the palate as a massive sangiovese drink. The lineage is 30 years.

Montesodi and Mormoreto are both harvested by hand and hand sorted; as I observed on the day of visiting. The rest of the 200 hectares are mechanically harvested to make one million bottles of Riserva Chianti (a big feat as there is no entry level wine).

Castello di Nipozzano Riserva Chianti Rufina 2007 (90), USD 16, 13.5%, is outstanding. It has lovely cherry freshness, sour cherry fruit intensity, dryness, aged for 2 years in second fill barriques; sangiovese clones (90%), the rest colorino, malvasia nero and cabernet sauvignon.

Part of the Castello supports the ancient villagio Castello; once a hub of share farmers who lived and worked on the estate, one 73 year-old lady remains. Share farming had ceased in the 60s.

The castle was a Florentine fortress dating back to 1000, then a literary retreat and a long time Frescobaldi estate. Today it houses the Frescobaldi family wine library.

However I will recall the place as an estate making big Tuscan red wines.