Elio Sandri: Italian for uncompromising.
From an on site visit May 2017
Pretty much a secret until just a few years ago, Elio Sandri is one of the top producers in Piemonte today, and yet almost no one has heard about him! Non interventionist, always willing to experiment, with a clear goal in mind and a work ethic that never rests. Well that’s not exactly true, it certainly seems at time that he is resting, but the gears are always turning, if slowly. The entire portfolio here is terrific, and captures the ethos and style of the past in such a beautiful and pure way. The Dolcetto and Barbera here are ageworthy, and all of these wines should be in every Piemontese lovers cellar.
2015 Elio Sandri Dolcetto d’Alba 12.5%
Quite ripe with a little cocoa on the nose, this seems a little oxidized and lacks freshness of perfume. Ample air refreshes this revealing violets, almonds and dandelion along with small berry fruit. In the mouth one finds cut and polish, very vinous through it doesn't lack fruit, with a little blackberry toned flavors that are taut and clear across the palate. There’s really terrific tension in the mouth for 15 Dolcetto with a long mineral finish, and acidity that keeps this vibrant and clear. This is really quite long and rather sophisticated for Dolcetto. 92pts
2015 Elio Sandri Barbera Superiore 14.5%
very few weeks in bottle
Tight on the nose but fine with icy, purple plums, smoke and cherry aromas with hints of sandalwood and old wood. Very fresh in the mouth, a certain richness here but with cut, and real depth on the palate, there's purity to the fruit, it's a tight core of remarkably pure, black plum skin fruit. With real tension in the mouth, not just acid driven but this has a rare tannin presence on the palate that draws the succulent finish out nicely. Classic Barbera. 92pts
2015 Elio Sandri Nebbiolo d’Alba 14%
So perfumed, with real complexity already, rosehips, a hint of something akin to nutmeg, low, dark and spicy, then a bit of pomegranate, blue flowers and hints of green herbs. Fresh and upright in the mouth where there is a blue tone to the fruit as well. This is fairly big with noticeable flesh, the backend is tense with minerality, and long, man this is precise with really fine definition on the palate, incredibly persistence for Nebbiolo, long and focused, with a balsamic overtone. Not a baby Barolo, but rather an intense Nebbiolo. 93pts
2010 Elio Sandri Barolo
Nicely fruity on the nose with an early hint of smoke, followed by a lovely if vaguely medicinal tone with a hint of gasoline. Tight on entry, so tight but with lovely transparency on the palate to the nuanced tarry and fine cherry fruit flavors that fade as the tannins pop and grab the tongue on the backend. Plenty of fine acids keeps this clear and lively, with poise on the palate, before the powerful tannins on the finish battle the persistent, mineral inflected red berry fruit on the finale. Lovely medium bodied, not exaggerated, style that is firmly structured and classic in all aspects. 92pts
2010 Elio Sandri Barolo Riserva
Another layer of intensity and nuance on the nose, really very subtle with an innate sweetness to the slightly jammy white cherry fruit with a hint of flintiness and a touch of gunpowder. Really another level from the base wine, more richness with just a touch more weight, tannins that are firm but silky, great depth on the palate with fruit that is more complex and nuanced, showing a touch of pepperiness along with hints of gunpowder and jasmine on the finale. This is powerful and elegant, complete if just slightly understated. 94pts
Pretty much a secret until just a few years ago, Elio Sandri is one of the top producers in Piemonte today, and yet almost no one has heard about him! Non interventionist, always willing to experiment, with a clear goal in mind and a work ethic that never rests. Well that’s not exactly true, it certainly seems at time that he is resting, but the gears are always turning, if slowly. The entire portfolio here is terrific, and captures the ethos and style of the past in such a beautiful and pure way. The Dolcetto and Barbera here are ageworthy, and all of these wines should be in every Piemontese lovers cellar.
2015 Elio Sandri Dolcetto d’Alba 12.5%
Quite ripe with a little cocoa on the nose, this seems a little oxidized and lacks freshness of perfume. Ample air refreshes this revealing violets, almonds and dandelion along with small berry fruit. In the mouth one finds cut and polish, very vinous through it doesn't lack fruit, with a little blackberry toned flavors that are taut and clear across the palate. There’s really terrific tension in the mouth for 15 Dolcetto with a long mineral finish, and acidity that keeps this vibrant and clear. This is really quite long and rather sophisticated for Dolcetto. 92pts
2015 Elio Sandri Barbera Superiore 14.5%
very few weeks in bottle
Tight on the nose but fine with icy, purple plums, smoke and cherry aromas with hints of sandalwood and old wood. Very fresh in the mouth, a certain richness here but with cut, and real depth on the palate, there's purity to the fruit, it's a tight core of remarkably pure, black plum skin fruit. With real tension in the mouth, not just acid driven but this has a rare tannin presence on the palate that draws the succulent finish out nicely. Classic Barbera. 92pts
2015 Elio Sandri Nebbiolo d’Alba 14%
So perfumed, with real complexity already, rosehips, a hint of something akin to nutmeg, low, dark and spicy, then a bit of pomegranate, blue flowers and hints of green herbs. Fresh and upright in the mouth where there is a blue tone to the fruit as well. This is fairly big with noticeable flesh, the backend is tense with minerality, and long, man this is precise with really fine definition on the palate, incredibly persistence for Nebbiolo, long and focused, with a balsamic overtone. Not a baby Barolo, but rather an intense Nebbiolo. 93pts
2010 Elio Sandri Barolo
Nicely fruity on the nose with an early hint of smoke, followed by a lovely if vaguely medicinal tone with a hint of gasoline. Tight on entry, so tight but with lovely transparency on the palate to the nuanced tarry and fine cherry fruit flavors that fade as the tannins pop and grab the tongue on the backend. Plenty of fine acids keeps this clear and lively, with poise on the palate, before the powerful tannins on the finish battle the persistent, mineral inflected red berry fruit on the finale. Lovely medium bodied, not exaggerated, style that is firmly structured and classic in all aspects. 92pts
2010 Elio Sandri Barolo Riserva
Another layer of intensity and nuance on the nose, really very subtle with an innate sweetness to the slightly jammy white cherry fruit with a hint of flintiness and a touch of gunpowder. Really another level from the base wine, more richness with just a touch more weight, tannins that are firm but silky, great depth on the palate with fruit that is more complex and nuanced, showing a touch of pepperiness along with hints of gunpowder and jasmine on the finale. This is powerful and elegant, complete if just slightly understated. 94pts
Elio Sandri. For me he was a mystery, resulting from two great bottles of wine followed by several years of fruitless attempts at arranging a visit, and then: pow! The light went on.
After a few phone calls back and forth I was able to arrange a visit with Elio at his Monforte winery: Cascina Disa. Located just east and over the hill from the village of Perno, the valley within which the vineyards lie are off the beaten path and it is easily understood why the media have passed by Cascina Disa, I mean why else is nobody talking about this guy?
Getting to Cascina Disa is fairly easy, even if the winery itself is neither well marked nor particularly obvious. It is a true cascina, winery and home in one, surrounded, hidden even by lush vineyards. These vineyards, benefiting from terrific eastern and southern exposures, have soils, grayish loams with veins of sand that become painfully obvious in the fall, that draw as much from Castiglione as they do from Serralunga, though truth be known they are very much Perno soils.
After a few phone calls back and forth I was able to arrange a visit with Elio at his Monforte winery: Cascina Disa. Located just east and over the hill from the village of Perno, the valley within which the vineyards lie are off the beaten path and it is easily understood why the media have passed by Cascina Disa, I mean why else is nobody talking about this guy?
Getting to Cascina Disa is fairly easy, even if the winery itself is neither well marked nor particularly obvious. It is a true cascina, winery and home in one, surrounded, hidden even by lush vineyards. These vineyards, benefiting from terrific eastern and southern exposures, have soils, grayish loams with veins of sand that become painfully obvious in the fall, that draw as much from Castiglione as they do from Serralunga, though truth be known they are very much Perno soils.
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Farmed lovingly, in a truly minimally interventionist style, these vineyards, planted roughly between 300 and 350 meters above sea level, only account for part of the brilliance of these wines. There is of course the winemaking as well. Adhering to a similar non-interventionist tact in the cellar, Elio has quietly been producing wines that should be recognized as among the region's best. Seriously, these wines can compete with any being produced in the Langhe, and an argument can be made, a very strong argument in fact, that his Dolcetto and Barbera and not only screaming values, but truly among the world’s finest expressions of these varieties.
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Laid out within a conca, a bowl of sorts, between Rocche di Castiglione and Gabutti in Serralunga, trapping the day's early warmth, the vineyards of Elio Sandri produce fruit that is both ripe and exuberant as well as terrifically transparent and soil driven. The wines really do express a hypothetical blend of Castiglione and Serralunga, even if Elio’s vineyard directly face Parafada, Gabutti, and Margheria in Serralunga, though quietly in whispers rather than brashly and dramatically.
Quietly. It's an apt word for both the wine and the man. Walking us through his vineyards, Elio stressed that he tries to keep his workers calm and relaxed as they make their way through the vines, pruning, adjusting, and simply communing with the wines. From someone else, someone perhaps more prone to theatrics, it might come off as a farce, but with Elio's quiet conviction it comes off as a grand philosophy.
The grass is cut here twice a year, and if you can't guess we are talking about organic farming, though certification is neither sought nor desired. Elio's philosophy can best be captured by his offhand comment that the best way to work ones vineyards is with ones hands in ones pockets! Other than gently trimming the lateral shoots, at the first leaf so as to not damage the buds, and some suckering, there is little done to manage or limit the vine's growth. The idea is to let the vines make the wine, and their achieving a natural balance is essential to that goal. With vines planted in 1937, as is the case with the Barolo vines here, that might very well be easier that it seems.
Quietly. It's an apt word for both the wine and the man. Walking us through his vineyards, Elio stressed that he tries to keep his workers calm and relaxed as they make their way through the vines, pruning, adjusting, and simply communing with the wines. From someone else, someone perhaps more prone to theatrics, it might come off as a farce, but with Elio's quiet conviction it comes off as a grand philosophy.
The grass is cut here twice a year, and if you can't guess we are talking about organic farming, though certification is neither sought nor desired. Elio's philosophy can best be captured by his offhand comment that the best way to work ones vineyards is with ones hands in ones pockets! Other than gently trimming the lateral shoots, at the first leaf so as to not damage the buds, and some suckering, there is little done to manage or limit the vine's growth. The idea is to let the vines make the wine, and their achieving a natural balance is essential to that goal. With vines planted in 1937, as is the case with the Barolo vines here, that might very well be easier that it seems.
So too with his natural yeast fermentations. There's no great explanation about them. This is they way one makes wine. This is the way one has always made wines. After experiments with cultivated yeasts this is obviously the way to make wine. These indigenous yeasts produce wines that better translate what the terroir has provided, and in the end make for a better balanced, more interesting wine. While I have praised the so-called lesser varieties in particular, there is not a boring, ordinary, or lackluster wine being produced at Cascina Disa. In fact they are all elegant, soft, incredibly textured and complex with the bursting with the flavors of soil and fruit.
There is no great commercial distribution of these wines. Production is tiny, in no small part because Elio has never been bitten by the cru bug. There is one Barolo produced here. It is a reserva. There are seven botte in the cellar, and only botte for Barolo, one for each vintage in wood. The current releases are the 2007 and 2008. This is not the way to become a successful winery, not in today's vintage driven, critic's praise propelled wine market. Imagine if you will how frustrating it must have been at the peak of the modernist movement, producing wines that are classics, in tiny quantities. Not only were your wines totally out of fashion and out of date, but people couldn't even be bothered to let you know! Cascina Disa was just a small town winery living in a lonely world.
Elio obviously didn't and doesn't care; he's doing all right. Just try and convince him to sell you some wine! More wine could be sold, and in fact more wine could be produced from the 7 hectares of vines under cultivation, but with seven botte holding Barolo there simply is not enough space to expand production. Though I expect we'll see some movement on that front in the very near future.
At the end of the day what counts is what's in the bottle. Elio's been the guiding hand at Cascina Disa since the 2000 vintage, though the property was purchased by his father in 1965, coincidentally the year of his birth. He has a gift and has quietly been producing wines that will be recognized as deserving the same acclaim that we accord houses associated with Mascarello and Rinaldi today. The biggest impediment to that fame is the limited production of about 300 cases a year of Barolo. In many ways no more than an after thought or footnote to a critic's commentary. You won't find the wines out at mass tastings, or submitted for review, you'll have to show up at Cascina Disa to discover these wines, and they are most certainly discovery worthy.
If you see these wines, grab them. There are perhaps 10,000 bottles a year in total produced and virtually none in the secondary market. I mentioned before that the Dolcetto and Barbera are both terrific, they are also among the most age worthy wines of their type. Simply fabulous additions to the cellar and a glimpse of what these wines were, and can be.
One final note before we head onto the wines. The hands-on nature of Cascina Disa doesn't end in the vineyard, nor in the cellar. Every bottle of Barolo is hand wrapped in paper. A fitting and final touch from Elio to his valued customers.
There is no great commercial distribution of these wines. Production is tiny, in no small part because Elio has never been bitten by the cru bug. There is one Barolo produced here. It is a reserva. There are seven botte in the cellar, and only botte for Barolo, one for each vintage in wood. The current releases are the 2007 and 2008. This is not the way to become a successful winery, not in today's vintage driven, critic's praise propelled wine market. Imagine if you will how frustrating it must have been at the peak of the modernist movement, producing wines that are classics, in tiny quantities. Not only were your wines totally out of fashion and out of date, but people couldn't even be bothered to let you know! Cascina Disa was just a small town winery living in a lonely world.
Elio obviously didn't and doesn't care; he's doing all right. Just try and convince him to sell you some wine! More wine could be sold, and in fact more wine could be produced from the 7 hectares of vines under cultivation, but with seven botte holding Barolo there simply is not enough space to expand production. Though I expect we'll see some movement on that front in the very near future.
At the end of the day what counts is what's in the bottle. Elio's been the guiding hand at Cascina Disa since the 2000 vintage, though the property was purchased by his father in 1965, coincidentally the year of his birth. He has a gift and has quietly been producing wines that will be recognized as deserving the same acclaim that we accord houses associated with Mascarello and Rinaldi today. The biggest impediment to that fame is the limited production of about 300 cases a year of Barolo. In many ways no more than an after thought or footnote to a critic's commentary. You won't find the wines out at mass tastings, or submitted for review, you'll have to show up at Cascina Disa to discover these wines, and they are most certainly discovery worthy.
If you see these wines, grab them. There are perhaps 10,000 bottles a year in total produced and virtually none in the secondary market. I mentioned before that the Dolcetto and Barbera are both terrific, they are also among the most age worthy wines of their type. Simply fabulous additions to the cellar and a glimpse of what these wines were, and can be.
One final note before we head onto the wines. The hands-on nature of Cascina Disa doesn't end in the vineyard, nor in the cellar. Every bottle of Barolo is hand wrapped in paper. A fitting and final touch from Elio to his valued customers.
2013 Elio Sandri Cascina Disa Marakipa 13%
A blend of Dolcetto, Barbera, and Nebbiolo from younger vines, richer soils, and overflowing barrels. Dolcetto is blended in but the Nebbiolo and Barbera are co-fermented.
Complex and earthy on the nose with strong mineral, camphor and herb stem aromas that culminate with a huge and effusive minty note. The entry is surprisingly sweet with fruit, rich with raspberry and blackberry flavors supported by light tannins and great, refreshing acids. There’s a fine transparency here with more of a cherry toned midpalate that leads to a clean, long, sweet high acid red fruit finish This is really fun, sweet blueberry and wild berry fruit are laced with fine mineral mineral notes on the moderately long finish. I am usually not a fan of these sorts of blends, but this works! 88pts
2013 Elio Sandri Cascina Disa Dolcetto 12.5%
From a northern faced vineyard planted in 1977-1978 from a massale selection of clones.
Fermented and aged in concrete as well as a bit of 25 year old barrique
A bit earthy, animal, and deep on the nose with subtle violet aromas, herbal edges and coal base notes all coming together on the complex nose. A bit dusty on entry, and quite austere, this is tight and fine in the mouth with a faint sweetness to the slightly plummy fruit all framed with granite and bitter almond. With lovely cut, and fine tannins on the finish, this is clear, gentle and pure in the mouth with a simply stunning texture. This is as precise and fine a dolcetto as I have ever had and while I have tended to prefer more playful versions this is a remarkable wine. 92pts
Barbera
The core of the wine is a small cluster of 700 or so vines planted immediately after the war in 1945 that continue to produce rich, powerful, and yet elegant wines. To augment this meager production an additional 1200 vines were planted in 1996 in a vineyard that had been previously used to produce Barolo. Definitely a sacrifice but considering the quality of the wines from the ancient vines it was really the only path worth taking.
Planted in tufo rich soil, the vines are vigorous yet not terrible productive, producing wines that are very pure and terroir driven. The Barbera ages for 8 months in botte to help round out the edges without obscuring the fruit and soil tones, after which the wine is aged for at least 6 months in bottle before sale. These are among the most age worthy Barbera I have tasted, not for power but for elegance and sheer complexity. They are never powerful and opaque, but are rich and ripe, yet they remain all mineral, bitter, and enticing, benefitting from food but fascinating on their own as well.
2013 Elio Sandri Cascina Disa Barbera Superior 14.5%
This spent one year in wood
Dark but clear to the eye, and sweet on the nose with subtle earthy aromas, hints of underbrush and a touch of black fruit. This is juicy and rich in the mouth with moderately soft acids for Barbera lending the wine an elegant feel. With lovely balance and real harmony in the mouth this layers dark plum and black fruit over spicy, leathery base notes in a way that feels unforced and natural. Another clear, gentle wine. This shows wonderful development in an open bottle. Improving over three days. 92pts
2010 Elio Sandri Cascina Disa Barbera Superiore 14.5%
Meaty and subtle on the nose with emergent notes of maduro tobacco, sweet licorice and herbs adding detailed complexity here. In the mouth this develops a sweetness on entry followed by a powerful yet elegant core of mineral laden fruit. This has such purity, elegance, and height in the mouth, with good length that does show a bit of heat on the finale. Turning more Burgundian with age, this is such a remarkably mineral driven wine and if it weren't for that hint of alcohol it would be stunning. Still pretty fabulous. 90pts
Langhe Nebbiolo
Produced with grapes from east facing vineyards that would rarely produce distinguished Barolo, though the grapes are entitled to the denomination. The plot lays under the woods at the top of the Disa property with vines planted in 1985. Fermented for 10-12 days with the classic submerged cap method in stainless steel, this typically ages for 4 months in botte followed by 8 additional months in bottle before release, though the most recent release was aged in tonneaux of chestnut, slavonian oak and acacia. From 2014 on production will increase with additional volume coming from vineyards that face southwest towards Perno
2013 Elio Sandri Cascina Disa Langhe Nebbiolo 14%
Subtle yet complex on the nose with nutty base notes topped with aromas of licorice candy, small wild cherries and bitter cherry compote. In the mouth this is rather smooth, with a rush of black fruit embedded in a lovely, softly textured wine that is built on wonderfully ripe tannins. Gentle and elegant, this tightens up slightly on the finish, gaining a hint of candied green fennel and sneaky length. 91pts
Barolo
Coming from vines planted in 1937, 3700 vines a mix of 20% Michet and 80% Lampia clones, this is the source of greatness. These old vines are in tune with their wonderful mostly south facing position and yield fruit that is balanced, rich and deep with flavor and harmony. Fermented for 21-28 days, with natural yeasts and submerged caps, these wines are then aged for up to 7 years in bottle of Slavonia oak, and even though the minimum is some 60 months the average is most likely quite close to the full 7 years.
2008 Elio Sandri Cascina Disa Barolo Reserva 14.5%
Tight and sweet on the nose with menthol framed dark berry fruit framed with tight notes of old wood. Dark, fine and muscular in the mouth, this is tight very fresh and young feeling, though already showing signs of shutting down. With mature tannins and good acids, this hints at Monfortino with it’s tough yet integrated structure and nuanced bitter cherry fruit barely concealing stunning minerality at its core. Tight as a rose bud. Killer wine that needs a decade, perhaps more. 94pts
2007 Elio Sandri Cascina Disa Barolo Reserva 14.5%
A bit of caramel and bouillon cube on the nose, celery salt and mushroom as well. This is way more advanced than the 2008 and while it remains elegant and fine on the palate the nose needs time to clean itself up. The texture is surprisingly light lovely, yet light with a nice tannic bite, good acids, and notably complexity on the palate. There’s great wild raspberry fruit on the mid-palate framed with nutty nuance and packed with rosehips and lingering rose petal inner mouth perfumes. The dusty tannins draw out the finish and while this is lovely the nose is notably more advanced than the palate. Still, this is long, elegant, and soft in the house style. 91pts
1996 Giovanni Sandri Cascina Disa Barolo
Deep on the nose with aromas of huge handfuls of earth, tobacco, nuts, and black cherry fruit all competing for one’s attention. While this needs air it is obviously both big and elegant, very fine in fact with softening tannins supporting soft jello like black cherry fruit layered under tobacco and earthy nuance. Lots of acid and a chewy texture with plenty of fruit still available but developing nuance and complexity as this strides through adolescence. There’s a freight train of minerality that drives the limestone finish, almost salty and streaked with mineral chiseled from tufa. Elegant and fine. 93pts
A blend of Dolcetto, Barbera, and Nebbiolo from younger vines, richer soils, and overflowing barrels. Dolcetto is blended in but the Nebbiolo and Barbera are co-fermented.
Complex and earthy on the nose with strong mineral, camphor and herb stem aromas that culminate with a huge and effusive minty note. The entry is surprisingly sweet with fruit, rich with raspberry and blackberry flavors supported by light tannins and great, refreshing acids. There’s a fine transparency here with more of a cherry toned midpalate that leads to a clean, long, sweet high acid red fruit finish This is really fun, sweet blueberry and wild berry fruit are laced with fine mineral mineral notes on the moderately long finish. I am usually not a fan of these sorts of blends, but this works! 88pts
2013 Elio Sandri Cascina Disa Dolcetto 12.5%
From a northern faced vineyard planted in 1977-1978 from a massale selection of clones.
Fermented and aged in concrete as well as a bit of 25 year old barrique
A bit earthy, animal, and deep on the nose with subtle violet aromas, herbal edges and coal base notes all coming together on the complex nose. A bit dusty on entry, and quite austere, this is tight and fine in the mouth with a faint sweetness to the slightly plummy fruit all framed with granite and bitter almond. With lovely cut, and fine tannins on the finish, this is clear, gentle and pure in the mouth with a simply stunning texture. This is as precise and fine a dolcetto as I have ever had and while I have tended to prefer more playful versions this is a remarkable wine. 92pts
Barbera
The core of the wine is a small cluster of 700 or so vines planted immediately after the war in 1945 that continue to produce rich, powerful, and yet elegant wines. To augment this meager production an additional 1200 vines were planted in 1996 in a vineyard that had been previously used to produce Barolo. Definitely a sacrifice but considering the quality of the wines from the ancient vines it was really the only path worth taking.
Planted in tufo rich soil, the vines are vigorous yet not terrible productive, producing wines that are very pure and terroir driven. The Barbera ages for 8 months in botte to help round out the edges without obscuring the fruit and soil tones, after which the wine is aged for at least 6 months in bottle before sale. These are among the most age worthy Barbera I have tasted, not for power but for elegance and sheer complexity. They are never powerful and opaque, but are rich and ripe, yet they remain all mineral, bitter, and enticing, benefitting from food but fascinating on their own as well.
2013 Elio Sandri Cascina Disa Barbera Superior 14.5%
This spent one year in wood
Dark but clear to the eye, and sweet on the nose with subtle earthy aromas, hints of underbrush and a touch of black fruit. This is juicy and rich in the mouth with moderately soft acids for Barbera lending the wine an elegant feel. With lovely balance and real harmony in the mouth this layers dark plum and black fruit over spicy, leathery base notes in a way that feels unforced and natural. Another clear, gentle wine. This shows wonderful development in an open bottle. Improving over three days. 92pts
2010 Elio Sandri Cascina Disa Barbera Superiore 14.5%
Meaty and subtle on the nose with emergent notes of maduro tobacco, sweet licorice and herbs adding detailed complexity here. In the mouth this develops a sweetness on entry followed by a powerful yet elegant core of mineral laden fruit. This has such purity, elegance, and height in the mouth, with good length that does show a bit of heat on the finale. Turning more Burgundian with age, this is such a remarkably mineral driven wine and if it weren't for that hint of alcohol it would be stunning. Still pretty fabulous. 90pts
Langhe Nebbiolo
Produced with grapes from east facing vineyards that would rarely produce distinguished Barolo, though the grapes are entitled to the denomination. The plot lays under the woods at the top of the Disa property with vines planted in 1985. Fermented for 10-12 days with the classic submerged cap method in stainless steel, this typically ages for 4 months in botte followed by 8 additional months in bottle before release, though the most recent release was aged in tonneaux of chestnut, slavonian oak and acacia. From 2014 on production will increase with additional volume coming from vineyards that face southwest towards Perno
2013 Elio Sandri Cascina Disa Langhe Nebbiolo 14%
Subtle yet complex on the nose with nutty base notes topped with aromas of licorice candy, small wild cherries and bitter cherry compote. In the mouth this is rather smooth, with a rush of black fruit embedded in a lovely, softly textured wine that is built on wonderfully ripe tannins. Gentle and elegant, this tightens up slightly on the finish, gaining a hint of candied green fennel and sneaky length. 91pts
Barolo
Coming from vines planted in 1937, 3700 vines a mix of 20% Michet and 80% Lampia clones, this is the source of greatness. These old vines are in tune with their wonderful mostly south facing position and yield fruit that is balanced, rich and deep with flavor and harmony. Fermented for 21-28 days, with natural yeasts and submerged caps, these wines are then aged for up to 7 years in bottle of Slavonia oak, and even though the minimum is some 60 months the average is most likely quite close to the full 7 years.
2008 Elio Sandri Cascina Disa Barolo Reserva 14.5%
Tight and sweet on the nose with menthol framed dark berry fruit framed with tight notes of old wood. Dark, fine and muscular in the mouth, this is tight very fresh and young feeling, though already showing signs of shutting down. With mature tannins and good acids, this hints at Monfortino with it’s tough yet integrated structure and nuanced bitter cherry fruit barely concealing stunning minerality at its core. Tight as a rose bud. Killer wine that needs a decade, perhaps more. 94pts
2007 Elio Sandri Cascina Disa Barolo Reserva 14.5%
A bit of caramel and bouillon cube on the nose, celery salt and mushroom as well. This is way more advanced than the 2008 and while it remains elegant and fine on the palate the nose needs time to clean itself up. The texture is surprisingly light lovely, yet light with a nice tannic bite, good acids, and notably complexity on the palate. There’s great wild raspberry fruit on the mid-palate framed with nutty nuance and packed with rosehips and lingering rose petal inner mouth perfumes. The dusty tannins draw out the finish and while this is lovely the nose is notably more advanced than the palate. Still, this is long, elegant, and soft in the house style. 91pts
1996 Giovanni Sandri Cascina Disa Barolo
Deep on the nose with aromas of huge handfuls of earth, tobacco, nuts, and black cherry fruit all competing for one’s attention. While this needs air it is obviously both big and elegant, very fine in fact with softening tannins supporting soft jello like black cherry fruit layered under tobacco and earthy nuance. Lots of acid and a chewy texture with plenty of fruit still available but developing nuance and complexity as this strides through adolescence. There’s a freight train of minerality that drives the limestone finish, almost salty and streaked with mineral chiseled from tufa. Elegant and fine. 93pts
