Margherita Otto ‘M8’ Barolo 2017

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

About Margherita Otto

Named in honour of his grandparents, Margherita Otto is all about Nebbiolo, and there is only one wine we are receiving for this vintage, the 2016 Barolo. Alan sources from three of the main communes, Castiglione Falletto (Pernanno cru), Monforte d’Alba and Serralunga. Going against the modern grain of making cru or single site wines, Alan, like his mentors, blends all three parcels together, and in roughly equal proportions.

It’s always intriguing to hear about a new Barolo producer, and in recent years there have been many. Some you could argue don’t have the experience or real estate to produce a wine of quality, but Margherita Otto is not one of them.

Originally from the U.S., Alan Manley owned his own restaurant, but in the mid 90s he made his first trip to the Langhe and caught the Barolo bug. Alan regularly travelled to the Langhe each year and spent lengthy periods of time working with producers such as Elio Altare, Cavallotto, Sandrone and Bartolo Mascarello, where he still works today. The latter had the largest influence on his winemaking career, and it’s where he honed his winemaking skills. In 2011, he packed his bags and moved to the region permanently.

In the Vineyard

From Allan:

I use Guyot pruning and the fruiting cane is cut at 8-11 buds, depending on the site. A spur is cut at 2 buds for the following year’s fruiting cane. All vineyards are worked by hand for pruning, tying, trimming, scacchiatura, crop and shoot thinning, shoot arranging, trellis cleaning, weaving the “ar caplé”, and harvest. A tractor is used for mowing, treatments and soil work in Ginestra, Sotto-Rionda, Coste di Rose and Vignane. Every 4-5 years composted cow manure is applied as a fertilizer in late winter/early spring. The space between rows is worked by tractor (except in Castiglione, where 100% manual work was required), but the area around and between the plants is worked by hand (including hoeing and trimming the grass). All work in the trellises during the vegetative cycle is done by hand.

Each vine carries 6-9 bunches.

Hedging is not performed, instead I use the ancient ar caplé method of weaving the long shoots into a cap that gives shade to protect the fruit below from sunburn and also gives some hail protection. Very little green harvesting is performed as to not accelerate the sugar development ahead of tannic ripeness. Yields are 6,000-7,000 kg/ha (41-47hl/ha), somewhat less at the higher-altitude Monforte site.

I use traditional treatments of copper and sulfur in the smallest dosages possible to properly protect the plant and the fruit. A small amount of composted algae fertilizer is applied to the leaves 2-3 times per year for vegetative health and disease resistance. This delicate foliar application gives the plant the nutrients it needs for good vegetative health without pumping up the fruit load.

In the Winery

The sites are picked when each is ready, so the ‘continuous ferment’ method – as used by traditional blender producers like Mascarello – is employed. Alan continues down this traditional path with long, slow fermentation using indigenous yeasts. Extended maceration times of around 40–45 days in cement using ‘capello summerso’ (submerged cap) are also the norm. Once racked, the wine spends four years in a combination of large Mitttelberger (Alto Adige) botti and French oak botti. The end result is a Barolo that feels established, showing effortless elegance and vitality while displaying dark fruits, spice and minerals, underpinned by a focused Monforte tannin frame.

From Allan:

IN THE FIRST VINTAGES, I PRODUCED ONLY A TRADITIONAL ASSEMBLAGGIO BAROLO.

By this method, the various vineyards are co-fermented for maximum harmony and balance. The precise logistics and order of this work is entirely dependent on the conditions of the vintage and how and in what order the vineyards ripen. As each vineyard matures and is harvested, the fruit is added to tanks with fruit already in fermentation. This is called a “continuous ferment” and has fallen out of general use, but is consistent with older, traditional winemaking practices in this region.

On a practical level, the Monforte fruit typically ripens significantly later than the other vineyards, due to its high altitude and east-southeast orientation. In most vintages this means that the fruit arrives too late to be mixed in the vats with other fruit as those fermentations have already finished or are nearly finished. For example, in 2017 the Monforte fruit fully ripened about 3 weeks after the other vineyards and was fermented separately. The various 2017 wines were then mixed post-alcoholic fermentation for the extended maceration. In other vintages, such as 2015, the Monforte was ready to pick a few days after the Pernanno and Sotto-Rionda began fermentation and all the fruit was fermented in a single vat. Since 2017, I have left Monforte to ripen fully every year on its own time, and have subsequently had to ferment it separately, as it consistently gives the best result when picked about 2 weeks after the other vineyards.

At Margherita Otto, I use lined concrete tanks of 40 and 60hl with no temperature controls. The ferment is by indigenous yeasts. Typically 1 or 2 pump-overs are performed per day during the phase of active fermentation. Ferments typically take 10-14 days to reach full dryness.

Once the primary ferment is completed, the wine remains on the skins for an extended maceration. I use the ancient “cappello sommerso” method post-fermentation to submerge the floating pomace in the wine. This step gives the wine more structure, color and aromatic complexity. In a normal vintage the maceration period will go an additional 20-25 days after the end of the ferment, for a total of 35-45 days. Again, each vintage is different and the quality and characteristics of the skins determine the final maceration time – it is not a decision I impose on the wine.

After the extended maceration, the wine is pressed off the skins and racked to the concrete tanks or a stainless steel tank. 100% of press wine is used; it is immediately added to the free-run wine. After 3-6 days of settling, the wines racked off the rough sediments. The malolactic fermentation typically begins after this first rack off the rough lees and takes 10-20 days, depending on the vintage. The wines are racked again about a week after the malo finishes.

AT MARGHERTIA OTTO, LARGE OAK CASKS ARE USED FOR THE AGING.

The cantina has botti of 10, 25, 35 and 50 hectoliters, all made by the Mittelberger cooperage in Bolzano, Italy. The wood is French oak sourced in the Alsace chosen and worked for neutral flavor effect. A few smaller casks of 225 and 500 liters are used for wine that is left over after the casks have been filled. These barriques and tonneaux are purchased from reputable local wineries after at least 4-6 years of use so there is no flavor influence from the wood. During the cask aging period, the wines are typically racked no more than once per year, sometimes less if the wine develops normally.

After 32-34 months in wood, the wines are racked to a single large stainless steel tank in preparation for the bottling. A mobile bottling line with GAI and ENOS equipment is used and all of a vintage’s production is bottled on a single day for maximum consistency from the first to the last bottle. The wine is not filtered nor fined. Margherita Otto uses 375, 750, 1500 and 3000ml Albeisa bottles.

The wine is put in the market in June of the fourth calendar year after the harvest.

Beginning with the 2019 vintage, the Cantina will produce a Nebbiolo Langhe. The same general methods are used as in the Barolo, but without the extended maceration and only 12-18 months in cask. The first release will be in June 2021 (if I am happy with the result!).

The 2017 Vintage at Margherita Otto

From Allan:

2017: The second-hottest vintage after 2003, and an incredibly difficult growing season.

The spring started warm, with the buds already moving and swelling at the beginning of March. March saw continued good weather and the shoots grew quickly. Easter on April 16 was 28°C in Monforte. The Wednesday morning after Easter – April 19 – the temperatures dropped to -2C in the valley bottoms, bringing huge frost damage to less favored sites, especially those facing west toward the Tanaro and Po plains. Thus began a month of wet and cold – with a second freeze a week after the first – which replenished the water tables somewhat after the dry, mild winter. The weather finally cleared around the middle of May and from May 16 to September 1 there was not a drop of rain in Monforte (Barolo, La Morra and Castiglione had a brief rain shower in July). The harvest began about month early but the high-altitude site in Monforte performed far better in a hot year like this one.

Pernanno and Sotto-Rionda were harvested on September 24 and 25; Ginestra on October 12. This was the year that I learned that the Ginestra site, in order to reach its best potential, needs to be harvested 10-16 days later than the lower-altitude Pernanno and Sotto-Rionda sites. From 2017 onwards I have left Monforte to ripen on its own time and fermented it separately, adding it to the mix just after the fermentation for the long maceration.

After the ferments finished, the wine was left to macerate on the skins for a total of 25 days and then racked to a single 35hl Mittelberger botte, along with a single old, used barrique.

2017 was the first vintage to be completely vinified and aged at the new Margherita Otto cellar in Monforte d’Alba. The wine was bottled on August 28, 2020

Where in the World is Margherita Otto?

Margherita Otto has built their new home in Monforte d’Alba. The fruit for their lone Barolo coming from the communes of Castiglione Falletto, Monforte and Serralunga.

Pernanno MGA: in Castigline Falletto. Size: 0.25ha, used from 2012 thru the 2019 vintage.

Serralunga: (I call this plot “Sotto-Rionda” located at the edge of the Vignarionda MGA but outside the boundary), in Serralunga d’Alba. Size: 0.2ha, used since 2014.

Monforte: (at the edge of the Ginestra and Mosconi MGA but outside the boundary), in Monforte d’Alba. Size: 0.48ha, used since 2015

Vignane MGA: in Barolo. Size: 0.98ha, used since 2018.

Coste di Rose MGA: in Barolo. Size: 0.58ha, used since 2020