The evolution of DOC wines in Langhe
Posted on: 02-07-2020 om 07:06:05
| Karina Imschoot
Recognition of the Langhe registered designation of origin (DOC) dates back to 22 November 1994. At that time it counted on eight varieties, two without specification of the grape variety (white and red) and six with variety reference (Arneis, Chardonnay and Favorita among whites; in addition to Dolcetto, Freisa and Nebbiolo among reds).
On 14 December 2010, following a substantial amendment to the product specification, nine other varieties were added and one without reference to the variety. Of the first, five were linked to international varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Riesling and Sauvignon blanc) and four to indigenous varieties (Barbera, Nascetta, Nas-cëtta del Comune di Novello and Rossese bianco). Langhe Rosato the one without variety denomination.
Ten years later, a first evaluation can be made, analysing the development of these wines in terms of wine-growing area and bottling. The data relate to the 2019 harvest. The table above gives an initial figure: the incidence of the ten new types on the total DOC Langhe is limited. In fact, the total number of hectares planted with vines is just over 227, or about 11% of the total area of the Doc Langhe. The situation is even more limited in volume: the number of bottles in 2019 (1,001,966) represents only 5.55% of the more than 18 million bottles of the whole denomination.
We are faced with niche wines, which on the one hand improve a number of indigenous varieties (Nascetta, Nas-cëtta linked to Novello and Rossese bianco) and on the other hand put to the test a number of international varieties, which have given significant results elsewhere. It should be noted that these results in terms of area under vines and production are not only related to the last ten years, but are also the result of previous developments, even before 1994, when these wines were classified as Langhe table wines with a geographical indication.
After 1994, they were no longer referred to and therefore had to be placed in the boxes of wines without variety specification, i.e. Langhe white and Langhe red.
Among the products related to international grape varieties, the best results are those of Riesling and Sauvignon, favored, especially on the right Tanaro, due to the lack of a native grape variety for white wines of high reliability. Their main competitor remains Chardonnay, also of international origin. Among the black fruits, Pinot Noir is good in terms of vineyards, slightly less bottled. The Merlot is very controlled, obviously in contrast to the great development that Langhe Nebbiolo has achieved in this field.
Among the typologies with native grape varieties, the best response comes from Nascetta, both as Langhe Nascetta and in the Nas-cëtta sub-region of the municipality of Novello: growth is constant in terms of planting and bottling, a figure that could be even greater in the coming years, when most of the vineyards will be productive. In addition, the producers of the two varieties will announce the celebration of these first ten years of the designation in the coming months.
The small size of Langhe Barbera is due to the fact that few producers abandon the DOC Barbera d'Alba for this alternative. Langhe Barbera is often used by producers of Barbera del Doglianese, which is notoriously excluded from the area of origin of Barbera d'Alba. The figure of bottled for Langhe Rosato is excellent, even in the presence of a very limited vineyard. In this case, other variety references such as Dolcetto, Barbera and Nebbiolo, which are associated with both the Langhe DOC and higher appellations, contribute to its production.
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