Nadia Curto La Foia Barolo 2017
For her ‘La Foia’ bottling, pulled from the Arborina Cru, an outstanding south-facing vineyard in La Morra, Nadia ferments and long macerates her fruit in giant Slavonian grandi botti. There is no ‘technology’ per se: no glycol temperature controlled steel tanks, no roto-fermenters, no synthetic yeast additions or filtration. The only technical trick Nadia employs is rolling her giant oak barrels out into the snow in January for a night which naturally clarifies the wine; otherwise, everything is 100% old school. Fittingly, it is aged for more than 24 months in botti, bottled unfined and unfiltered, then aged 12 months in bottle before release. The resulting wine is a master class in Arborina Barolo: achingly delicate dark cherry fruit, alongside a dense bouquet of dried rose, Taiwanese red tea, and black truffle aromas. Deceptively light in its mid-weight structure, it still delivers tons of flavor intensity and character, doling out raspberry compote, blood orange, mint, and Ceylon leaf on the fine-boned, refreshing palate. Nadia’s 2017 is truly singing right now, a Barolo for those who look for detail and nuance over bombast, and for those appreciative of earlier drinking appeal (not a bad thing!) Drink now thru 2030.
In addition to her disarmingly warm and chatty manner, Nadia Curto is a respected, veteran cellar talent, and, as niece of Barolo moderniste legend Elio Altare, born into multi-generation ‘royalty’ in La Morra, Barolo. Nadia and her 85-year-old father Marco organically farm a single hillside, which fortunately includes a significant percentage of the vineyard Arborina, a site which ranks among the top vineyards in all of Barolo. Most of La Morra is dominated by clay soils and thus produces soft, round, young drinking Barolo; Arborina on the other hand has a mixture of limestone-rich and sandy soils which impart firm minerality, tension, bright aromas, and a sense of lift that is distinct in the village. Depending on the specific bottling, Nadia’s style either resembles her uncle Elio's modernist precision and instant gratification – as with her ‘La Arborinia’ – or the more antique, neutral botti character of her father’s wines – as with the long-aged ‘La Foia’ bottling here, obviously our personal favorite. As such Nadia herself occupies a fascinating place within the (thankfully subsiding/less pertinent) ‘Barolo Wars’ dichotomy; but regardless of cellar technique, the OCD-grade perfection of her wines is undeniable, with everything full-on organic, seeing native yeast ferments and low sulfur additions, and made in the small basement of her house which sits right at the base of Arborina.
Shipping Policy
Due to the restrictions of many state laws, we only ship wine to those states where direct shipment from a retailer is permitted by law; currently we ship to AK, CA, DC, ID, LA, MO, NE, NV, NH, NM, ND, OR, VA, WV and WY. This list is subject to change without notice. In addition, each state imposes limitations on the amount of wine any particular resident may receive by direct shipment. To ensure that you are able to order wine for direct shipment from our website, please consult the specific state requirements for your state.
Please note that all orders must be placed by persons who are at least 21 years old, and that age verification will be required upon receipt of your wine. No wine will be delivered to obviously intoxicated persons and any person unable to provide age verification will forfeit their right to receive the shipment until identification is produced. In such circumstances, the order may either be held in storage at a local depot of the shipping company until appropriate identification is produced, or shipped back to the winery. All associated costs will be the responsibility of and be charged to the customer.
Title to, and ownership of, all wine passes from Biondivino to the purchaser in the State of California and the purchaser takes all responsibility for shipping it from California to his/her home state. By arranging for transportation of the wine, Biondivino is providing a service to, and acting on behalf of the purchaser. By utilizing this service from Biondivino, purchaser is representing that he/she is acting in compliance with his/her local and state laws regarding the purchase, transportation and delivery of wine. The purchaser represents that he/she has obtained any required permission, paid any required fees, is working through properly licensed intermediaries where required, is legally entitled to take possession of wine and is legally entitled to take quantities ordered.
You will be charged the applicable sales tax, if any, assessed by your state for any shipment that Biondivino makes; otherwise California sales tax will be assessed on the sale. Shipping and handling costs are not included in the cost and will appear in the shopping cart before you complete your transaction. The carrier and service speed may vary by state and time of year, and Biondivino cannot take responsibility for the condition of any wine shipped by Ground.
Some of our products are sold on a "pre-arrival" or "futures" basis. These products are explicitly indicated as "pre-arrivals" or "futures" on our Website and newsletter. Biondivino will notify you by email when your "pre-arrivals" or "futures" have arrived and are ready to be shipped. You will be given the opportunity to coordinate the proper shipping address and method (we won't automatically ship out pre-arrival wines when they arrive).
Shipping Policy
Due to the restrictions of many state laws, we only ship wine to those states where direct shipment from a retailer is permitted by law; currently we ship to AK, CA, DC, ID, LA, MO, NE, NV, NH, NM, ND, OR, VA, WV and WY. This list is subject to change without notice. In addition, each state imposes limitations on the amount of wine any particular resident may receive by direct shipment. To ensure that you are able to order wine for direct shipment from our website, please consult the specific state requirements for your state.
Please note that all orders must be placed by persons who are at least 21 years old, and that age verification will be required upon receipt of your wine. No wine will be delivered to obviously intoxicated persons and any person unable to provide age verification will forfeit their right to receive the shipment until identification is produced. In such circumstances, the order may either be held in storage at a local depot of the shipping company until appropriate identification is produced, or shipped back to the winery. All associated costs will be the responsibility of and be charged to the customer.
Title to, and ownership of, all wine passes from Biondivino to the purchaser in the State of California and the purchaser takes all responsibility for shipping it from California to his/her home state. By arranging for transportation of the wine, Biondivino is providing a service to, and acting on behalf of the purchaser. By utilizing this service from Biondivino, purchaser is representing that he/she is acting in compliance with his/her local and state laws regarding the purchase, transportation and delivery of wine. The purchaser represents that he/she has obtained any required permission, paid any required fees, is working through properly licensed intermediaries where required, is legally entitled to take possession of wine and is legally entitled to take quantities ordered.
You will be charged the applicable sales tax, if any, assessed by your state for any shipment that Biondivino makes; otherwise California sales tax will be assessed on the sale. Shipping and handling costs are not included in the cost and will appear in the shopping cart before you complete your transaction. The carrier and service speed may vary by state and time of year, and Biondivino cannot take responsibility for the condition of any wine shipped by Ground.
Some of our products are sold on a "pre-arrival" or "futures" basis. These products are explicitly indicated as "pre-arrivals" or "futures" on our Website and newsletter. Biondivino will notify you by email when your "pre-arrivals" or "futures" have arrived and are ready to be shipped. You will be given the opportunity to coordinate the proper shipping address and method (we won't automatically ship out pre-arrival wines when they arrive).