Marchetti Maria Luisa

Nebbiolo – such an important grape for us and our portfolio – is fast becoming the most in-demand of them all, especially in the premium market. My training was heavy in the wines from the Langhe so it’s no surprise that the core of our portfolio re- mains the wines from there and the senior versions from Barolo and Barbaresco. Something that was nowhere near as promi- nent when I started in the industry was Nebbiolo from elsewhere, namely the Northern reaches of Piedmont and further North

-East in Lombardy. Today’s interest in those wines though, is enormous. You only need to look at the success of wines like Ar Pe Pe, Barbacan, Franchino and Nervi to know that there’s a thirst for these. Nervi in particular strikes a chord. When the great- est Barolo producer in the world decides to make Gattinara Nebbiolo, one takes notice. Yes, it is not quite right to lump Gat- tinara and Valtellina together, but in this context of ‘other Nebbiolo’ from higher altitude and further North I think it’s fair. So – a couple of years ago – the search for an alpine Nebbiolo began. Early this year, I read a lovely article and follow up report by Jancis Robinson, which featured the usual delicious suspects, as well as a couple of wines from Maria Luisa Marchetti. 

Maria Luisa is an ex school teacher born of generations of grape growers in Valtellina. Having sold the family’s grapes for years she decided to vinify her first wines in 2000 before moving to full-time vigneron status. Her husband was and still is stationed in the winery. Winemaking here is very intentionally hands-off, following the style of the organic viticulture she employs. Every- thing planted on the vineyards is Nebbiolo save for a little section of Solaris, a very unusual white grape that’s a hybrid of Gris, Riesling and Muscat amongst others. But it’s the Nebbiolo here that is the star. Locally known as Chiavennasca (which is the clonal name too), it’s made into four different wines of varying styles dependent on specific vineyard locations. They all follow a house style that is abundant in perfume, lightness and minerality. They are very, very elegant wines. Soft Nebbiolos but still Nebbiolo.