Wrapping up this week’s Nebbiolo harvest reports 2012 is this from Antoniotti Odilio e Mattia in Bramaterra, Alto Piemonte. Here the terroir is very different to that of the Langhe, 90 mins drive south: in the pre-Alps, surrounded by thick forest, on predominantly volcanic, acid soils, the zone of Bramaterra (along with Gattinara and Boca nearby) is the Nebbiolo equivalent of Côte Rotie, while the Langhe is your Hermitage, or even Châteauneuf-du-Pape!

The other key difference from the Langhe, as Odilio explains in the video, is that Bramaterra is a blend of 80% Nebbiolo (the spine of the wine) and 20% Croatina (colour, fruity perfume), Vespolina (spiciness) and Uva Rara (low tannin, low acid, table grape ripeness) blended together as grapes to capture the magic of  the site. They also produce a very pretty, lifted raspberry fresh and approachable Nebbiolo, Costa della Sesia (from the banks of the Sesia, a river which defines the Alto Piemonte, cutting a path though its middle); here the Nebbiolo proportion is 89% along with 11% Croatina.

Odilio Antoniotti and his son Mattia farm their 4.8 hectares in as natural a way as possible; an approach that continues into the cantina (winery), where they use cement fermenting tanks, large botte grande (for Bramaterra) and used tonneaux for the Nebbiolo. Their wines are charmingly authentic, displaying soft ripe fruit together with a true sense of place.

Watch out for two more harvest 2012 videos next week: one from the vineyard that’s behind Berrys’ new Own Selection Barolo; the other from Marcarini’s Brunate vineyard!