Gianluigi Lano was ahead of the curve with regards to the trend of no longer selling to cooperatives and negociants - he chose to bottle his land under his name in 1993, well before the fine wine market cared about Barbaresco and Barolo (it was the 2010 vintage that started the bull run). One needed conviction and clarity to do that in the 90s.

Of course, the wines flew under the radar for years, except in the Italian market and a various others within the EU. We introduced the wines to the US market within our first year of business and have been happy to see just how much they have taken off since then. The wines are now imported into 10+ states, with Ian D’Agata writing about Lano on multiple occasions and asking how no one knew about these for so long. Fortunately, we did know about them.

The operation is a small family affair - Gianluigi, Daniela and Samuele (Son), preside over the vineyards and cellar. The cellar is next to the Rocche Massalupo cru, just down the hill from the village of Treiso. Rocche Massalupo is farther from the Tanaro, which was a liability in past years, but has become an asset as the climate warms.

All vineyard parcels are on Barbaresco registered land and are a combination of calcareous clay and sand. Nebbiolo is generally planted on plots with a higher percentage of clay. The most important plots have vines between 30 and 50 years of age.

Where many Barbaresco producers underlying the current renaissance choose a style based more solely on fruit and generous structure, harnessing high scoring styles as popularity for Piedmont rises, the wines of Lano Gianluigi are decidedly medium bodied and “vin de garde” in style. I recall just how young the 2011 Barbaresco was in 2020 when we first imported it.

Organic certification was completed in 2018, however, their farming standards go far deeper. Gianluigi is well known as a leader for regenerative farming - he never ploughs the land, allowing a deep layer of topsoil to build up. The result, is a thriving ecosystem and unusually wild look to the land (see the picture on the previous page!).

The family also allows ample canopy growth and rarely thins it. This slows down ripening and provides shade, resulting in lower sugar levels across a longer growing season. Grape skins also end up thicker and darker in color.

Though common practice in France and rare in Piedmont, Gianluigi explains how decades ago, this is how everyone farmed in Piedmont. In recent years, we have observed more growers adopt this method, as summers are warmer and drier. The decision to self-bottle in the 90's makes more sense given how comfortable Gianluigi is in carving his own path, and how much he understood that farming was the key.

More on farming: a green harvest is completed early in the season to concentrate growth on a small number of grape bunches. They do not even use natural fertilizer and no treatment of any kind is applied after the first week in July, ensuring a particularly pure and clean crop at harvest. This greatly increases risk, but it's a decision that is consistent with their contemplative nature and strict farming standards.

Grape selection for each wine is based on first quality grapes from unique plots of land, not declassification within certain plots. The only declassification we’ve seen is with the 2019 Langhe Nebbiolo. There was no Barbaresco that year because most grapes were lost to hail. With not enough to make even one barrel, the remaining grapes were added to the Langhe Nebbiolo.

In the cellar, their goal is simplicity. Cement without temperature control is employed for primary and malolactic fermentation while old oak casks see most of the wines through a long, cool élevage (in the winter months, one is wise to bring a warm hat into the cellar). Pretty much all wines are made in this similar manner. Maybe a stainless steel tank is used for the Dolcetto or Barbera d’Asti, depending on the vintage.

Cement is pretty traditional and used by many of the finest producers in the Langhe; naturally regulating temperature. Use of sulfites is fairly low and only used for bottling or "rack and return" activity. All wine is bottled without fining or filtration.

The wines themselves are strictly of the land and vintage, yet are thought provoking because they are also unique to their peers. With the darker colored skins from farming, the wines have a deeper purple color in youth. Fruit aromas tend to the fresh blue end of the spectrum, and florals to purple/violet instead of red. Aromas are also particularly dense in youth. None of this is a result of ripeness level - alcohol levels remain modest and the wines have ample lift and grace. Volatile acidity levels are very low or not present at all.

What we appreciate most is that the wines are never drying and always have very fine, powdery tannins. Many people comment on the wines possessing classic elegance through strength, which we agree with. Some people have also told us the wines are like the Italian equivalent of Chambolle.