6.2 The endless charm of Valmaggiore

The story of Valmaggiore, the amphitheatre-shaped hill that occupies one of the most south-westerly areas of the village of Vezza d'Alba, in Roero, is studded with many references attesting to the strong link between this portion of territory (today classified as an Additional Geographical Mention) and the cultivation of the vine, in particular Nebbiolo.
Historical information becomes denser in the first part of the twentieth century, when the main wineries of the territory (in particular the Enrico Serafino winery of Canale), purchasing Nebbiolo grapes, fixed prices by descent, having as a reference of maximum level precisely the quotation of those produced in Valmaggiore. Therefore, the Nebbiolos of Valmaggiore were already then an essential reference point for all the wine production of Roero with specific attention to Nebbiolo-based grapes and wines.
Over time, other production realities have also joined Enrico Serafino, often not from the area, but operating in the Alba context, starting with the Prunotto winery of Alba which in 1961, thanks to the brilliant intuitions of its owner at the time, the oenologist Beppe Colla, was the first to report the words "Cru Valmaggiore" on the label following the illuminating example of the Burgundy producers. Bruno Giacosa in Neive also followed that example and dedicated special attention to the Nebbiolo grapes of that small strip of land located near the Sanctuary of Madonna dei Boschi in Vezza d'Alba.
"It was 1994 – Luciano recalls with pride – when I also began to think with interest about the Nebbiolo produced in Valmaggiore di Vezza d'Alba. I had been studying the situation for a while, but I didn't dare move from dreams to facts. Crossing the Tanaro river even just with thought seemed to me a bit like betraying the precious Langhe hills that inspired Barolo, hills that had been so generous with me. Finally, the dream took shape in 1994. And what gave me the most satisfaction was the realization that the idea of Valmaggiore was not only mine. Even my brother Luca, who had worked in Roero for a few years, had had the same intuition. And, like me, he also struggled to manifest it. Then, we broke the delay and above all we were convinced that placing Nebbiolo d'Alba alongside Barolo and the designation of origin wines of our territory (Dolcetto d'Alba and Barbera d'Alba) could be a great project".
Luciano and Luca Sandrone thus became convinced that they had to produce and propose to the market not just any wine, but a great Nebbiolo d'Alba. And for this, there was a need for a vineyard of great vocation and prestige.
Thus, Luciano remembered that – when he worked for Giacomo Borgogno – Cav. Cesare Borgogno had selected some winegrowers in Valmaggiore and had bought Nebbiolo grapes from them for a series of harvests and, on some occasions, also small batches of wine. Cav. Borgogno truly believed in this small production area of Nebbiolo d'Alba to the point that - in terms of quality and prestige - he used to compare it to the long hill of Cannubi in Barolo.
So, Luciano began to rummage through his memory to trace the names of those winegrowers with whom he had been in contact many years before. He knew it was not easy to trace them, but he had to try. Little by little something clearer began to come back to mind and the moment also came for the purchase of the first vineyard. Needless to say, that first purchase was made from a certain Mr. Battaglino (in that area the surname "Battaglino" is very frequent, as is "Cerrato"), who sold Luciano a beautiful vineyard with south-west exposure, the one where there is still the ciabot (tool shed) among the rows.
The news of that first Nebbiolo vineyard purchased by Sandrone in Valmaggiore did not take long to spread and so, little by little, other winegrowers came forward, especially elderly people who had no future in working their vineyards. Everyone was inclined to sell their piece of land, especially if the purchaser was that young Barolo producer named Luciano Sandrone.
They were generally small plots of land and this forced Luciano to make many purchases to put together a vineyard of the size appropriate to his needs. To close the deal, settle the purchase of the various plots and put together a decent surface area, more than 20 deeds had to be made by the notary Ghiberti of Alba.
In a short time, however, an unexpected result was achieved; an important surface area for that area was put together, about 2 hectares of vineyard, an extension that would then increase over time to touch the current 3 hectares.
As they purchased, Luciano and Luca began to cultivate the vineyards in the conditions they were in, perhaps intervening here and there to plug the most obvious holes, but without exposing themselves too much from an economic point of view.
"At a certain point, however, – Luciano's clarification is necessary – we realized that such a precious and rich land from a vocational point of view would have deserved an adequate arrangement and so we decided to intervene on the planting. Therefore, we carried out a radical restructuring, trying to optimize the distribution of the plants also in relation to the slope, which in some sections was very marked, almost prohibitive. We also worked to rationalize movement within the vineyard through the creation of a central road and various headlands parallel to the development of the hill to favor the adequate transfer – with a pulley towing system – of the grapes during the harvest. There remained the problem of pest control treatments and – after tests and counter-tests – we solved it by entrusting the management of the operation to a helicopter service. And this took all the problems away".
From the production point of view, the first harvest was that of 1994 when just 3 thousand bottles were produced, immediately dressed with the label still in use. Particularly interesting was the graphic mediation work: taking inspiration from the Barolo label, the contents were reworked, using, on the white background, Sandrone's traditional "rectangle" in dark green color.
The purchase of the vineyard in Valmaggiore was therefore another important milestone in Luciano Sandrone's production path. He knew that that long hill had always had an important meaning for the wine sector of the Left Tanaro. Having become one of its owners and one of its interpreters filled him with pride. He recognized himself in that almost magical place. He was fascinated first of all by that impeccable exposure facing the sun and the very challenging position dictated by the slope of the hillside. And, then, at the beginning of the Valmaggiore hill, there was and is the Sanctuary of the Madonna dei Boschi, in whose crypts are the tombs of many members of the Roero Counts family, a dynasty that gave this territory not only the name but also a special identity.
Over time, Luciano became even more proud of this choice. He realized that with that purchase he had contributed to giving back dignity and value to a site that was becoming precious in the eyes of many producers, but which between the 1970s and the early 2000s had risked being any old land.
And yet, even now, walking through the vineyards, walking the rows, one perceives a sensation of majesty and charm that is difficult to find elsewhere. Contributing to such a special sensation is on the one hand its great vocation for the vineyard, but on the other also the beauty of the landscape and the history that this portion of territory has been able to sediment.