94pts Vinous
A new wine in this range, the 2018 Bramaterra Robino is 80% Nebbiolo, 10% Croatina and 10% Vespolina from a south-east facing site done with 100% stems. Powerful, intensely mineral and quite savory, the 2018 offers notable energy and vibrancy right out of the gate. Sweet tobacco, herbs, mint, dried flowers and leather give the 2018 its distinctive aromatic profile, but it is the wine’s energy and overall shape that stand out most. Readers who enjoy savory, taut reds will adore it. I prefer the straight Bramaterra for its greater aromatic sweetness and overall balance, but both wines are terrific. Drinking Window: 2025 – 2036

– By Antonio Galloni on November 2022

This is another terrific set of new releases from Le Pianelle, an estate that has been on a roll of late. Readers will note the addition of a new wine, the Bramaterra Robino. Although Alto Piemonte has been a net beneficiary of climate change so far, today’s conditions require a different approach. Winemaker Cristiano Garella told me he was inspired to start experimenting with whole clusters because of the intense heat of 2017. In 2018, he vinified Robino, a relatively cool southeast portion of the estate, with 100% stems for a new Bramaterra and also used a good amount of whole clusters for the existing Bramaterra bottling. The results speak for themselves. Both wines saw 30+ days on the skins and were aged in cask, with no fining or filtration prior to bottling. Le Pianelle is a compelling example of the new Alto Piemonte. A decade ago, the estate did not really exist. Today it produces world-class wines.

The Chiuso Robino vineyard is a 1.2 ha vineyard in the historic center of Brusnengo right opposite of the winery. The Bramaterra Robino is based on a selection of Nebbiolo grapes complemented by Vespolina and Croatina from the same vineyard all hand picked. Fermentation and macaeration of thefull bunches (whole cluster)takes place in Grenier oak vats. The young wine will then be matured for 18 months in a combination of used barrique barrels as well as large Stockinger oak barrels. The Bramaterra is finally kept on bottle for another 24 month before being released to market.