Expert summary:

Piedmont’s ‘other’ Nebbiolo wines offer a great-value, approachable way to enjoy the grape’s charms without the cellaring requirements of their big-name cousins

AS A PANeL we were expecting to see more entries from the Alto Piemonte – more wines from, for example, Boca, Carema, Gattinara, Ghemme and Lessona. Of the 72 wines tasted, 52 were from Langhe Nebbiolo DOC, 14 from Nebbiolo d’Alba DOC, three from Roero DOCG, and one each from Gattinara, Lessona and Langhe Rosso. This reflects what is available in the UK.

The quality was generally very high, with many wines more friendly and accessible than a typical young Barolo or Barbaresco. The best offered attractive strawberry, cherry and floral aromas and sharper red fruit flavours, held in check with juicy acidity and lightly grippy tannins. These are excellent, food-friendly wines: one reason why they are so popular on UK restaurant lists.

Of the five vintages represented, we had only three wines from each of 2011 and 2012, so it is difficult to generalise about the quality of these vintages. The 2013s were consistently good, with 12 of the 14 wines tasted scoring between 86 and 92.

The 2014s were surprisingly good. Yes, 2014 was a challenging year, but this affected the earlier-ripening varieties such as Barbera and Dolcetto much more than Nebbiolo. In the second half of the summer and into autumn, the weather was much warmer and drier, favouring the late-ripening Nebbiolo. Out of 25 wines from this vintage, 19 achieved a score of 87 or above.

Meanwhile, the early signs are that the 2015 vintage is very exciting, with 10 wines out of 27 scoring 89 and above, and another 10 scoring 87 or 88.

The 14 Nebbiolo d’Alba wines also did particularly well, perhaps a reflection of the fact that these wines often come from areas which abut key Barolo sites. Of the three highest scoring wines, one is a Nebbiolo d’Alba from Roddino, just outside the famous Serralunga Barolo area, and one is a Langhe Nebbiolo from younger vines in the favoured Barolo sites of Brunate and Rocche dell’Annunziata. Perhaps this just underlines how sensitive Nebbiolo is to site. In any case, many of the wines tasted here offer good value for money compared to their more famously named counterparts.