Our Italian Buyer's Top Nebbiolo Picks

There is no grape in Italy that demands more of you — or rewards you more deeply — than Nebbiolo. It's the reason I fell in love with Piedmont. It's the reason I keep going back. This week, we are exploring Nebbiolo in all its forms: from the graceful, approachable wines of the Langhe to the iron-fisted grandeur of Barolo, the alpine severity of Valtellina, and the haunting minerality of Alto Piemonte.

We are also welcoming our newest Direct Import partner, Vigneti Repetto, whose Timorasso Derthona is one of the most exciting discoveries I have made in Piedmont in years. And we have our K&L Discovery Series Barolo for those who want to build a serious cellar without spending a serious fortune. Nebbiolo isn't always easy. But I promise you: it's always worth it.

— Orazio Campoli, K&L Italian Wine Buyer

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THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS

• Join Us Saturday, June 27^th: Italian Wine Tasting, All Four Locations


• Introducing Vigneti Repetto: K&L's New Direct Import from Piedmont's Colli Tortonesi


• Nebbiolo: One Grape, Six Expressions


• K&L Discovery Series: Barolo for Every Cellar


• Italian Wine Club: Go Deeper. One Region at a Time.


• Mark Your Calendars: K&L's Upcoming Tasting Events

This tasting ranges from a rare Timorasso Derthona in the Colli Tortonesi all the way to a Gaja Costa Russi Barbaresco in the Langhe, with some wonderful stops along the way as we tour northern Italy. The best way to understand these regions and the great wines they produce is to taste them, so join us this Saturday!

When people think of Piedmont, they almost always think of the Langhe: Barolo, Barbaresco, the rolling hills around Alba that have defined Italian fine wine for generations. And for good reason. But I have always believed that some of the most exciting and paradigm-shifting wines in Piedmont are being made far from that spotlight, in the steep, fiercely independent hills of the southeast: the Colli Tortonesi. Read more On The Trail.

Founders Gian Paolo and Marina Repetto

Declassified fruit from the great Barolo and Barbaresco hills, plus the sandy soils of Roero and Nebbiolo d'Alba, gives wines that trade structure for perfume — rose, red cherry, dried herb — and drink beautifully tonight. The grape's clearest, most generous expression, at a fraction of the price.

Warmer, lower sites along the Tanaro ripen earlier than Barolo, yielding wines of finesse and aromatic lift — sooner to open, no less profound. Asili and the Treiso hills set the benchmark.

Powerful, austere in youth, and built for decades — Nebbiolo at its most demanding and most rewarding. Read across the crus and you read the map: Monforte's depth, La Morra's grace, Castiglione's poise, Serralunga's iron.

On the acidic, volcanic-influenced soils of the north — where the grape goes by Spanna — Nebbiolo turns leaner, higher-toned, and mineral, with a savory iron edge. Gattinara and Lessona are its great names, reborn over the last decade.

At the top of the valley in Donnas, locals call it Picotendro. The wines are lighter-framed, brisk, and unmistakably mountain — alpine herb, crushed stone, bright red fruit.

Across the border in Lombardy — here it's Chiavennasca — vines cling to terraced, south-facing Alpine slopes above the Adda. The result is tension and transparency: fine-boned, savory, ageless in the hands of a master like ArPePe. Sassella, Grumello, Inferno — the crus reward patience.

VALTELLINA

Vintage	Item Name	Score	Retail	Link
2019	Plozza Rosso Di Valtellina		$24.99	View
2023	ArPePe Rosso Di Valtellina		$47.99	View
2016	ArPePe "Buon Consiglio" Grumello Valtellina Superiore Riserva	93	$129.99	View
2013	ArPePe "Nuova Regina" Sassella Valtellina Superiore Riserva	96	$119.99	View
2017	ArPePe "Fiamme Antiche" Inferno Riserva Valtellina Superiore	94	$59.99	View

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Nebbiolo for every mood, palate, and budget

Barolo is not just one wine—it's a tapestry of villages, soils, and philosophies. Each Barolo village brings its own unique voice to the Nebbiolo grape, from the elegant and fragrant wines of La Morra to the powerful, structured bottles of Monforte d'Alba. This page explores the differences between Barolo villages and the two main winemaking philosophies: Modernist and Traditionalist. Read more On The Trail.

Modern or traditional, K&L has you covered

If this newsletter has made you want to explore further, the K&L Italian Wine Club is how you do it. Every month, two bottles curated by me — from the benchmark classics that define Italian wine to the discoveries that redefine it. $39.95 per month. This is not a generic wine club. It is a guided education in one of the world's most complex and rewarding wine countries, built around the same philosophy that drives everything we do: find the best, pay a fair price, understand what you are drinking. Join the Italian Wine Club!

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