Bel Colle Pelaverga di Verduno DOC 2022

Cantina Bel Colle is located a few minutes out of Verduno in a spectacular panoramic position on the hills of Langhe. The winery cultivates 10 hectares of vineyards across Barolo, Roero, Barbaresco, the Langhe Hills and the area around Asti. Bel Colle's vineyards include three prestigious crus (MGAs); Monvigliero and Bussia in Barolo and Pajorè in Barbaresco. Belle Colle is also the largest producer in Piedmont of Verduno Pelaverga.

Verduno Pelaverga is both a cult wine and a rarity - only 200,000 bottles were produced in 2022 and only nineteen wineries make the wine. The wine is made from the rare Pelaverga Piccolo grape. The Verduno Pelaverga production area is confined to just over thirty hectares in Piedmont - slightly more than 25 are in Verduno, 4 hectares are in Roddi and 1.6 hectares are in La Morra. The wine's success is well-deserved, as it is one of Italy’s most exciting and enjoyable red wines. A favourite of mine, Verduno Pelaverga is a beautifully aromatic wine that strikes me as a cross between a Nebbiolo and a Pinot Noir.

"Ah, Pelaverga, I love it. One whiff and I'm hooked. So aromatic, all strawberries and white pepper. Delicious, juicy, red fruits. Just so very easy to drink."  Nick Munday 

Expert reviews

"Ah, Pelaverga, I love it. One whiff and I'm hooked. So aromatic, all strawberries and white pepper. Delicious, juicy, red fruits. Just so very easy to drink. For both pinot noir and nebbiolo lovers."  Nick Munday, Canterbury Wines - 95 points and Special Value Wine  ★ 

"Strawberry, raspberry, white pepper, orange peel, hazelnut. It’s classic Pelaverga, spicy and red fruited, a little earthy with some sappy orange bitterness, firm dusty tannin grip, cinnamon and pepper on a quite bold and juicy strawberry finish of good length. It’s perhaps a bit more grunty and guttural in 2022, though the signature of grape and region is stamped pretty firmly. Nice. Drink: 2024-2028."  Gary Walsh, The Wine Front - 92 points

Awards

Special Value Wine – Canterbury Wines  ★

Verduno Pelaverga 

Verduno Pelaverga is made from the rare Pelaverga Piccolo grape. The Verduno Pelaverga production area is confined to just over thirty hectares in Piedmont - slightly more than 25 are in Verduno, 4 hectares are in Roddi and 1.6 hectares are in La Morra. 

Verduno Pelaverga is both a cult wine and a rarity - only 200,000 bottles were produced in 2022 and only nineteen wineries make the wine. The official producers association was founded in 2000 and has eleven founding members; the wineries of Bel Colle, Castello di Verduno, Comm. G.B. Burlotto, Fratelli Alessandria, Gian Carlo Burlotto-Massara and Vinandolo by Antonio Brero.

There is another Pelaverga grape variety, Pelaverga Grosso, that is also officially part of the National Registry of Italy’s Grape Varieties. Pelaverga Grosso is grown in the area around Saluzzo in Piedmont. The wine made with Pelaverga Grosso is called Cari, while the more famous wine made with Pelaverga Piccolo is called Verduno Pelaverga.

The winery

The Bosio family, owners of Bel Colle: Valentina, Valter, Rosella and Luca (left to right)

Cantina Bel Colle is located in the small village of Borgo Castagni, a few minutes out of Verduno on the road to La Morra, in a spectacular panoramic position on the hills of Langhe. This is one of the most fascinating areas of Piedmont, characterized by undulating hills planted with vineyards that are tinged with the warmest colours in autumn, forests and ancient villages.

Bel Colle was established in 1978 by Giuseppe Priola and brothers Franco and Carlo Pontiglione, who chose to invest in Verduno, which at that time was a peripheral territory. It was a far-sighted choice, as under the leadership of enlightened oenologist Paolo Torchio from 1980 to 2015, Bel Colle became one of the most important wineries in Verduno and the first producer of Verduno Pelaverga.

In the 1990s, Bel Colle chose to invest in the native red grape varieties of the Langhe: Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto. In addition, Bel Colle also gave space to the native white grape varieties: Arneis, Roero’s princely variety, Nascetta, a rare indigenous variety of Novello and Favorita. Belle Colle under Paolo Torchio was renowned for producing clean, highly elegant wines with finesse and an austere femininity.

Bel Colle was acquired by Valter and Rossella Bosio in 2015. The Bosio family, originally from Santo Stefano Belbo, has been producing wine for four generations since they planted their first vineyard in Valdivilla. Today it is Valter and Rosella, together with their son Luca and his wife Valentina, who run the company (refer to photo above). The winery is led by Luca Bosio and fellow oenologist Mario Albrito. Luca, the fourth generation of the family, has the courage to take new paths and expand the vineyards. On the other hand, Mario, a Langhe wine veteran of over 40 years, brings all his experience in the area to the table. Together they make a formidable team. 

The winery cultivates 10 hectares of vineyards across Barolo, Roero, Barbaresco, the Langhe Hills and the area around Asti. Winemaker Luca Bosio practises sustainable viticulture and abstains from the use of any synthetic treatments, with all vineyards prepared organically and worked by hand.

Bel Colle's vineyards include two of the most prestigious Geographical Mentions (MGAs) in Barolo, Monvigliero in the Commune of Verduno and Bussia in the commune of Monforte d’Alba - which produce Barolo DOCG Monvigliero and Barolo DOCG Bussia respectively. 

In the hills of Barbaresco, Bel Colle has vineyards in Pajorè MGA in the Commune of Treiso and the Gallina MGA in the Commune of Neive – which produce Barbaresco DOCG Pajorè and Barbaresco DOCG Gallina respectively.

Belle Colle is the largest producer in Piedmont of Verduno Pelaverga DOC, a wine that rose to cult status in the mid-2010s. Made from the rare Pelaverga Piccolo grape, the Verduno Pelaverga production area is confined to just over thirty hectares - slightly more than 25 are in Verduno, 4 hectares are in Roddi and 1.6 hectares are in La Morra. 

The Alba area produces Langhe Nebbiolo DOC, Barbera d’Alba DOC and Dolcetto d’Alba DOC, the hills of Roero produce Nebbiolo d’Alba DOC, and the hills of Bionzo produce Barbera d’Asti DOCG.

For the white wines, the vineyard of Turna Lunga in Santo Stefano Belbo produces Moscato d’Asti DOCG Turna Lunga, the hills of Roero produce Roero Arneis DOCG, the Commune of Novello produces Langhe Nascetta DOC and the hills of Langhe and Roero produce Langhe DOC Favorita.

The Vineyards

Bel Colle cultivates 10 hectares of vineyards across Barolo, Roero, Barbaresco, the Langhe Hills and the area around Asti. Winemaker Luca Bosio practices sustainable viticulture and abstains from the use of any synthetic treatments, with all vineyards prepared organically and worked by hand. Bel Colle's vineyards include three prestigious Geographical Mentions (MGAs); Monvigliero and Bussia in Barolo and Pajorè in Barbaresco.

Monvigliero, Comune di Verduno

An MGA of Barolo, Monvigliero has always been considered the "Grand Cru" of the commune of Verduno, as well as one of the most prestigious vineyards of the entire appellation. The vineyard is a natural amphitheatre facing southwest characterized by a particularly dry climate and light, loose soils that push the vines to give their best. Barolos from here are prized for their finesse and elegance.

Bussia, Comune di Monforte d’Alba

An MGA of Barolo, Bussia is the most famous vineyard in Monforte d’Alba and has only recently been included among Bel Colle’s cultivation plots. Bel Colle's section of the vineyard is one of the highest, near the village of the same name, with excellent south-southwest exposure. Here the Nebbiolo vineyard reaches unparalleled heights of intensity and elegance. The marly soils meet a limestone matrix that expresses complex, sumptuous and excellent structured Barolo, with a slight savory note that enhances its freshness.

Pajorè, Comune di Treiso

An MGA of Barbaresco, it is one of the appellation’s most renowned crus. It enjoys a well-established reputation thanks partly to the cult wines of Giovanni Moresco (now almost unobtainable). The rows have a very steep, almost terraced layout that enhances the excellent south and southwest exposure. Soils, elevations and exposure produce classic and elegant structured Barbaresco that is well delineated and beautifully balanced.

Borgo Castagni, Municipalities of Verduno and La Morra 

The vineyards of Borgo Castagni include the plots that extend around the Bel Colle winery, on the border between the municipalities of Verduno and La Morra. They are divided between two Barolo MGAs, those of Neirane in Verduno  and Castagni in La Morra. The west-facing exposure, cool climate and good altitude express the wines unique olfactory array of intensity and persistence, marked by good freshness. Excellent structure is combined with extreme elegance. A peculiarity of Borgo Neirane is the presence of clay-limestone soils, characterized by veins of chalk, which give the Verduno Pelaverga wine produced here excellent aromatic breadth and sapidity.

Turna Lunga, Santo Stefano Belbo

Turna Lunga is a magnificent vineyard in Valdivilla, a hamlet of Santo Stefano Belb. The vineyard is located on one of the most spectacular ridges of the eastern Langhe and is planted entirely with Moscato. The very steep slope of Turna Lunga, around 35 percent, means the plot demands a huge amount of laborious manual labour. The resulting single vineyard Moscato d’Asti DOCG Turna Lunga is extremely elegant, fresh and balanced, sweet yet never cloying.

Bionzo, Astigiano (area around Asti)

Belle Colle produces its Barbera d’Asti from a one hectare vineyard of Barbera in Bionzo, a small town overlooking the Tinella Valley which divides the hills of the eastern Langhe from the Monferrato Astigiano. The rows rise in a hot, well-exposed area that is extremely dry, inducing the clusters to ripen early and have great concentration. The resultant Barbera d’Asti Superiore DOCG Nuwanda is a single vineyard, full-bodied and alcoholic wine of great power which still preserves the acidity of the Barbera grape variety.