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Made from a unique clone of Nebbiolo (now officially called Vite Talin) that Luciano Sandrone began slowly propagating after identifying it in 1987, this groundbreaking wine is one of his great legacies. It was an instant sensation when first released in 2013, receiving 100-point reviews from Antonio Galloni and Monica Larner.
Luciano had noticed one vine in his rented plot of Le Coste, Barolo, behaving in a very surprising manner. This vine produced much smaller bunches and berries and was less vigorous than the plants around it. It also had leaves with a different morphology.
He took cuttings and planted the vine in several different spots to see if it would behave the same way. It did, so in 1991, Luciano and his brother (vineyard manager Luca Sandrone) began planting cuttings taken from these vines in two Crus: Drucà and Rivassi. Later, Sandrone acquired the original parcel of Le Coste and planted it out with Vite Talin, so there are now three tiny sites.
In 2017, the vines were finally verified by DNA testing, and the results were surprising. Not only were the vines indeed Nebbiolo, but they turned out to be a unique strain that had never been identified before. The Sandrone family named this strain Nebbiolo Vite Talin: ‘Talin’s vine’. (Talin was the name of the grower who originally owned the vine.)
Barbara Sandrone tells us the berry size of the Talin vines is half that of normal Nebbiolo. In an average year, a Vite Talin berry weighs less than a gram, whereas a berry from Cannubi weighs 2.2 grams. The resulting juice is considerably denser, and the winemaking is adapted to include extended macerations, three years in large 2,500-litre botti and a further three years in bottle before release.
Generally, you can expect a darker, more mineral and ferrous wine. It is more classic in structure and personality—encouraged by traditional vinification—yet offers great finesse and complexity. This unique wine marks another remarkable chapter in the history of this estate.