Lapo Berti. Barolo del Comune di La Morra

Barolo DOCG del Comune di La Morra
Grape: Nebbiolo

The fruit was picked by hand in mid-October. The bunches were crushed the morning after picking to allow a little pre-fermentation maceration. The fermentation is spontaneous and relies on the indigenous yeasts, taking place partially in steel tanks and partially in open demi-muids (barrels). In both cases, the wine remained on the skins for just over three weeks. The wine was then transferred to used barrels for almost thirty months (the barrels were first used in 2006 and 2009) for malolactic conversion and ageing, after which the wine is assembled and bottled (July 2016) without filtration.
1200 bottles made.

Link to Lapo Berti producer page

The wine comes from two plots in La Morra: Bricco Rocca and Fossati. Fossati is on the western side of La Morra, it has a deserved reputation for long-lived wines with finesse and weight, a very different beast to its neighbour, Sarmassa (in the commune of Barolo). Bricco Rocca is a little lower, where the aspect of the slopes provides the vines with excellent exposure to the sun, producing wines with finesse and balance, softer and more floral in style. The soils in both crus (plots) are similar: lowish sand (25%), highish levels of clay (39%), iron levels are high in Fossati.
This combination makes for a wine with intense aromatics, red fruit, flowers and spice, combined with a robust backbone, the prevailing characteristic of Fossati, and a minerality and lightness given by Bricco Rocca. The vineyards are in conversion to organic farming, the wine will be certified from the 2017 vintage.

2013 produced a number of challenges: the spring was cold and wet and summer started late, this meant the fruit set was late and not as generous as usual. Fortunately, September and October were warm and dry and the Nebbiolo ripened perfectly.