2020 Le Piane Bianko

From the winery - 

Some words about our “White wine project”, which started in 2014 with a first test vinification to explore the way to produce Erbaluce in our cellar. Erbaluce is the only local grape grown all over Northern Piedmont sites and we have some vines in our fields in Boca and also our main supplier Carlone has some in his vineyards. With vintage 2016 after approaching positive results we made the first official bottling which was very well received. More and more we realised that Erbaluce could be really an important wine in our portfolio not only in terms of sales but also in line with our general quality of excellence. Le Piane together with our long-term supplier at Boca, Davide Carlone, started in 2015 a planting program for Erbaluce vineyards and the first grapes we could pick this year.

The target is to plant at least 3 hectares of Erbaluce vineyards in Boca. My biggest surprise when starting this project was, that the interpretation of what I think should be a wine from Erbaluce gives totally different results than all the Erbaluce actually available on the market. Even more it seems that the lack of interesting and characterful white wines in Italy made that all customers all over Italy were totally thrilled and amazed about our “White”. It would be too long to explain, what makes the difference of our making of white wine, I only tell that the main points are as always in our estate: First of all picking very ripe grapes, further an artisanal approach of vinification process without any chemicals or technological tricks but very well leaded by our sensibility in tasting.

Our Erbaluce wine respects in my view how the grape looks like (golden with even pink reflects) and taste (savoury and crisp as the skins are quite thick) – named by old people “the white Nebbiolo”, means a structured, full bodied wine with length and mineral, salty taste, even if powerful and creamy supported by a good acidity. It’s not just a white wine nice to have in our portfolio, but a real very personal interpretation of Erbaluce, which will for sure also help to reestablish the historical value of this grape in Piedmont and so again a very important (and expected from our customer and the worldwide press) statement of Le Piane in the Italian wine scenery.

Lastly some words about the choice of the label: The absurd Italian legal prescriptions does not allow us to mention the grape variety Erbaluce on the label (neither in any other communication). Erbaluce in Boca by old people is named “Greco”. But also “Greco” we are not allowed to use. So we named our wine “biahkW” in greek letters, excusing to greek people that we used the letter not in appropriate way but that all over the world they would be read easily as “Bianco-White.

Vinification:

Full crop pressing in vertical press, fermentation without sulphites added on 20 degree temperature in barrels of acacia and oak (1600 litres) and cement tanks. 10% added wine from long maceration until 100 days. Bottling in September with small amount of sulphites added (<40mg/l).

Grape variety: 100% Erbaluce

Drinking window: 2-8 years.

Average production: 10’000 bottles.

Alcohol:12.5-13.5% Vol.

Total acidity: 5.4-6.0 g/l

First production year: 2016