The Gramolere field is south-southwest exposed in Monforte d’Alba on the road to Perno (as the only one of the house’s fields – the others are in Verduno) on a mixture of calcareous clay and sand. On this high-lying peak field, the family owns two hectares with more than 40-year-old canes.
The wines from Monforte are more ‘broad-shouldered’ and have more structure and balsamic, minty tar notes than the Verduno wines, but nevertheless, you also sense in this wine the finesse style of Fratelli Alessandria.
The vinification takes place according to the same mode as the other crus, which means fermentation and maceration for a good three weeks in a steel tank, after which the wine is stored for three years in two large barrels of Slavonian oak, which yields 6-7,000 bottles, depending on the vintage. There is, despite a marked structure, enjoyment to be had already on release, as the tannins are of top quality, but the wine will unfold aromatically with further aging.
We estimate the disposal potential to be approx. 20-40 years from harvest year.
Gramolere is the most potent of the house’s wines, where in aroma and taste you find a conglomerate of finesse and power, resulting in dark, balsamic fruit, licorice, tobacco, menthol and tar. There is beautiful physiological ripeness in the powerful fruit, but the finish has ripe, firm tannins that keep the fruit in check. The aftertaste has excellent length, and with further bottle aging will only increase significantly in complexity.
Fratelli Alessandria Barolo Gramolere will show its worth when served properly (burgundy glass and tempered at 16-18°) and paired with the right food, which in this case could be simple cuts of meat with a roasting surface, especially the hearty, rustic braise dishes of Piedmont , mushroom risotto or fried wild game.
