8.2 It was necessary to investigate

As we know, fortune favours the bold, and so one day Luciano met Nicola Argamante, an agronomist who, by moving within the world of wine research in Turin, knew Dr Schneider and often came to the Barolo area. Through him, Luciano managed to involve Anna Schneider herself, who came to Barolo to inspect that vineyard and that highly unusual vine. "At a preliminary analysis, Anna Schneider told us, it really seemed that the vine possessed the characteristics of Nebbiolo, but in order to be truly sure, it was necessary to investigate further."
A first epidemiological analysis was therefore carried out to understand whether that very limited vegetative growth might depend on a viral infection. In fact, the first findings of that assessment confirmed that the vine under examination was infected by viruses.
Dr Schneider's report still left some doubts that had to be clarified through further checks: first of all, there was no certainty that those particular phenological characteristics depended precisely on the presence of viruses in the plant, as had happened, for example, with the sub-variety known as Michét, which had turned out to be another Nebbiolo sub-variety, Lampia, affected by viruses. Added to this were other uncertainties, such as the doubt as to whether that vine, once sanitised, would retain those characteristics so promising for the "quality" of the wines.
One problem remained: in order to learn more, it was necessary to continue and deepen the investigation, but at that moment the Faculty of Agriculture and, in particular, the Institute of Viticulture in Turin did not have the economic or professional resources needed to carry the research forward.
"In spite of everything, however, my brother, Luca Sandrone recalls, was of the opinion that the investigation had to continue. To understand more, it was necessary to multiply that vine so as to have a greater number of plants available. But great care had to be taken in carrying out that propagation, in order to avoid spreading the viral infection to other vines in that vineyard or in neighbouring ones. A plot of land that could easily be delimited had to be found, so as to avoid any problems. In the rapid search for a suitable site, Luciano remembered that behind our parents' house in Barolo there was a plot of about 500 square metres, well enclosed, that could suit our needs."
Thus a small plot suitable for the propagation of that vine was created, where checks could be carried out that might produce more concrete and, in some respects, more decisive results.
On that plot of land, 450 wild Vitis Rupestris plants were planted, and the following year, after they had rooted well, each one would be grafted with a bud taken from the vine under study and from another one that had meanwhile been propagated.
Months and years of work followed, along with no small amount of concern: the vines that had been planted and then grafted gradually developed and promised a good production of bunches to be vinified and carefully evaluated.
Thus the 1990s arrived. Barolo continued to grow in identity and image within the sector and on the market, both in Italy and internationally.
Luciano was anxious to see the analytical and organoleptic results of the wine that would be obtained from the grapes of that small plot. Production from that new little vineyard began with the 1992 vintage, a year that was certainly not outstanding in climatic terms. But that had little bearing on the assessment of those new grapes and that new wine. Indeed, if the vintage had proved to be of middling quality, yet the new production had shown particular interest and appeal, the result would have been even more encouraging.
In reality, the findings were very positive: the separate vinification of that batch of grapes produced highly encouraging analytical and organoleptic results. In short, the wine showed a deeper, more compact colour and, analytically, a high quantity of flavonoids.
"On the strength of these results, Luca further emphasises, Luciano decided to strengthen the basis of the investigation. A second planting was therefore made, again using wild vines as rootstock and then grafting them the following year with bud grafts using material taken from the plants previously planted. This time it was a small plot in the Drocà area, a zone that was not impeccable from a viticultural point of view, already because of its east-north-east exposure; a little more than a thousand vines were planted there. In the meantime, yet another small plot was identified, in the area known as 'Rivassi', very close to the vineyard where Luciano had come across that original vine. More than 1,300 plants were planted there, and so the total surface area of the various plots involved in that investigation was becoming significant: it covered about two Piedmontese giornate, that is to say about 5,800 square metres, with around 2,900 vines. All of this formed a far more reassuring basis for verification, and therefore the results would be able to provide greater certainty."