Size & Type
Other
$61
Declassified Barolo! Not for quality, but, for the shorter ageing timeframe. BOOM! We’re seeing more and more whole bunch wine coming out of Barolo. Matt whole bunch skills with Pinot made for a confident hand playing with fruit from La Morra. End results are a beautiful wine, it’s really quite delicate for a La Morra. The whole bunch has elicited a fine perfume over vibrant fruit, little hints of spice. The tannins have a little edge of grip, it’s the good kind of quality. The fruit depth and length supports it wonderfully.
Matt has shown great touch. Combining 3 years working with Francesco Versio and Luigi Oddero with his Aussie experience has, as it turns out been a perfect match!
In stock
2018 was an up and down vintage for many in the Langhe due to a reasonably wet start, but as the vintage got going, so did the temperatures, resulting in a warmer than normal vintage that still produced exceptional Nebbiolo. Due to the dry and warm conditions, Matt managed to source a parcel of Nebbiolo up in La Morra (again from the Figli Luigi Oddero frazione of Santa Maria) off the ‘Specola’ subplot within the Rive MGA. Essentially fruit intended for Barolo, this parcel is vinified as a small, select batch, but only aged for a short period and thus declassified to Langhe Nebbiolo. 100% whole bunches left for 10 days in full carbonic maceration, then partially foot-stomped and pressed after 2 weeks on skins and racked into a single old barrique for a period of 12 months prior to bottling. Being from the La Morra commune and with its sandier clay-based soils, on the nose there are immediate lifted floral and red fruit aromatics. The palate is a delicate, gentle expression of Nebbiolo with lacy tannins and a prettiness and lightness not often seen in most Piemonte Nebbiolo.
Matt Large is a busy man, but at the core of his pursuit is his own brand, Praeter, the name of which is a nod to the idea that wine is an extension and amplification of the expression of nature.
Matt is an intuitive winemaker, always seeking to create precise and sensitive wines that clearly express a sense of place, while employing best-practice sustainable viticulture. This talent was recognised early in his career and led to a relatively rapid ascension through the winemaking ranks. Having previously worked as Assistant Winemaker and Vineyard Manager at Shadowfax Winery – across their Macedon Ranges sites – Matt has recently accepted a role as senior winemaker at Shaw + Smith and Tolpuddle Vineyard under Adam Wadewitz.
For a long time, Matt had a desire to work in Piedmont and grasp the intricacies of the vineyards, as well as learn the traditional techniques of Barolo and Barbaresco. Enter Peter Johns, who introduced Matt to ex-Bruno Giacosa winemaker Francesco Versio in 2017, creating a watershed moment in the development of the Praeter brand. Matt worked vintage with Francesco in 2017 at Figli Luigi Oddero in La Morra and was asked to take on a permanent Assistant Vintage Winemaker role – a position he still holds today. Using fruit from Luigi Oddero’s vineyards, Matt also made his first wine there, the 2017 Vino Rosso.
2020 see’s the release of his first Langhe Nebbiolo, the 2018, a DOC wine from an adventurous young Aussie winemaker.
Matt has managed to pull off the winemaker’s dream. He’s source a parcel of fruit from one of the world’s great wine regions. Nebbiolo from La Morra!
This 3D flyover is Epic covering each of the communes you can see just how varied and extreme the aspect of each vineyard is and how in the space of a few metres just how dramatically the change.
Where in the world does the magic happen?
95 Strada Bettolotti Muratori, 12064 La Morra CN, Italy
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