INSIDER'S PICK: 2020 LE PIANE VINO ROSSO 'MAGGIORINA' (Vinous 93points) $20.99

Even though we will not be doing the public tasting portion of the Insider's Pick until further notice, we will still be offering the wine for purchase with the usual 10% discount on Thursday and Friday. The wines will still be ones we highly recommend, and the tasting notes will still be our own. We will be returning to doing just the one wine on Thursdays and Fridays until further notice. We hope you are able to come by and get some wines to enjoy.

This is a great wine we get the privilege to feature, not just because of the quality for the price or the distinct character, but because it is truly important for what it means to the identity of the region. The Boca wine region was at one time one of the most important in the northern Piedmont, on par with its neighbor Gattinara and considered the equal of Barolo and Barbaresco. After World War II, the rural agricultural economy was gutted by the next few generations moving to Milan and other industrial centers looking for jobs. As recently as the 1990s there was less than 50 acres of vines remaining in the entire appellation. The group that started Le Piane sought to revitalize Boca at its lowest point, first purchasing about 2 acres of one of the oldest remaining stands of Nebbiolo, then slowly buying other parcels and replanting new ones. This wine represents the classic regional 'field blend' using Nebbiolo, Vespolina and Croatina; because of their early work preserving original parcels, they also have a site of rare mixed varieties interplanted and harvested together used in the blend as well.It's a fun bit of mystery to see on the wine breakdown '15% of 9 other grape varieties and also white grapes'. Because of that uniqueness this is a wine that is all but impossible to replicate. Loads of savory dark fruits with unique aromatics of dried spice and tobacco alongside slight whiffs of citrus and white fruits, very fine tannins with a soft rustic flavor, this isn't a blockbuster type but subtly beautiful. A tasty pairing with gamey or mushroomy meats and pastas.

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