Agricola Marrone Langhe Nebbiolo 'Che Vale' DOC 2024

Tamlyn Currin of JancisRobinson.com writes of this wine: “I am tasting the unplugged soul of Nebbiolo” and “it’s a bit like the experience of drinking glacial stream water for the first time”. I can’t describe this wine any better. Pure, nervy Nebbiolo with lashings of red fruit, blackberry compote and a subtle spice. The palate is supercharged by a line of saline acidity, with finely grained tannins applying the brakes just enough to ensure nothing is out of control. This wine is enormously food friendly. Actually, this wine is just friendly. You could chill it and enjoy a few glasses with friends; you could put it in a hamper and enjoy it with a picnic; or you could celebrate it in the same fashion as you might a posh bottle of Barolo, with pasta and truffles.

Most people encounter and enjoy Nebbiolo in its most serious forms. But iron-fisted Barolo and Barbaresco usually require some patience before they are ready. These days however, there are a number of producers adjusting to the global demand for fresher, younger wines. Wines not burdened by the constraints of these village’s DOC(G) laws for oak, alcohol and time, but that are immediately drinkable.

Langhe Nebbiolo, the entry-level designation from the same grape and often the same hillsides, offers this immediacy. There is no shortage of hedonistic Nebbiolo character: roses, tar, red cherries and violets.

Agricola Marrone is a family-run estate in Piedmont’s Langhe hills, with roots stretching back more than 150 years. Based primarily around La Morra, the winery is now led by the three Marrone sisters - Denise, Serena and Valentina - who took over day-to-day operations in 2011, combining deep local tradition with a modern, forward-thinking approach. Farming is hands-on and sustainably minded: vineyards are worked manually, herbicides are avoided, and only organic fertilisers are used. The estate focuses on expressing the purity and character of Nebbiolo and other local varieties through freshness, balance and drinkability rather than heavy extraction or oak influence. Across the range there’s a clear sense of precision, energy and collaboration, reflecting both the strength of the family dynamic and a commitment to making authentic Langhe wines with real personality.