Le Piane Boca 2018
Le Piane Boca 2018
Regular price
$8499
$84.99
/
The flagship wine of Le Piane, here is where you come to savor everything that Boca has to offer.
From the Winery:
The best year ever in 20 years of our story. The whole year was perfect, rain at the right time, nice weather mostly in summer with normal temperatures followed by an incredible nice and stable fall. We could choose for every grape variety and vineyard the right moment to pick. It was the longest harvest ever as we could even wait sometimes days to reach the best ripeness and there was a very good yield everywhere. Every vineyard expresses the best of Boca and the first blends of Boca made are outstanding, full of charm and aromatics, elegant and concentrated at the same time.
One of the most intriguing aspects of these regions is the practice of releasing wines with a few years of bottle age (like today's vintages). Part of that is tradition and part is a reflection of the wines not being easy to sell. Regardless, that is a huge positive for both consumers looking for bottles with a measure of complexity and sommeliers interested in adding wines that are ready to drink to their lists. Amazingly, prices have not caught up with the quality at most of the best estates."
-Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media, March 31, 2022
-Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media, March 31, 2022
Le Piane’s Boca consists of about 85% Nebbiolo with 15% Vespolina. Vespolina produces low yields, but gives the wine a distinct aromatic signature with bright notes of spice and dried rose hip. It also adds textural volume to the wines. The Nebbiolo grape, on the other hand, is responsible for the wine’s razor-sharp focus, energy and structure. At the top of their game, these wines compete with Barolo and Barbaresco in terms of elegance, territorial typicity and longevity. These are some of Piedmont’s most expressive, soulful wines.
The Boca appellation in the province of Novara makes wines that are 70% to 90% Nebbiolo, also known as Spanna in this part of Piedmont. Two other indigenous grapes, Vespolina and Uva Rara, can represent up to 30% of a Boca blend. The wines see 34 months of aging, 18 of which must be in oak. A Boca Riserva must age for 46 months (with 24 months in oak).
Le Piane
One producer looms largest and is almost exclusively responsible for the under-the-radar cult following Boca enjoys today. That producer is Le Piane, run by a Swiss-born vintner named Christoph Künzli. The estate was founded by Antonio Cerri, an old-school artisan who created the blueprint for these exciting and eccentric wines, thanks to his sheer passion and determination.
The magic of Le Piane is that the singular vision of one vintner happened to perfectly align with the vintner who would follow. Both men, Antonio Cerri and Christoph Künzli, operate on a seamless continuum of style, approach and execution. To understand Boca, you must start with Le Piane.
Christoph Künzli and his enologist friend Alexander Trolf acquired Le Piane from the 80-year-old Cerri in 1998. The Piedmont-born Chianti Classico winemaker Paolo De Marchi of Isole e Olena introduced his friend Christoph Künzli to the Boca appellation and to Le Piane. That friendship inspired Christoph Künzli to pursue and safeguard the Boca wine identity.
