AZIENDA AGRICOLA BRICCO ERNESTO

Renato Vezza, one of the most gifted and motivated vignerons in the area, founded and currently leads Bricco Ernesto firm, which has its roots in the tiny village of Priocca in Roero, Piedmont. Together with his spouse, they balance a number of part-time jobs in an effort to make the most of this land, which has been sustainably farmed since the 1990s. The cellar is as bare-bones as it gets, with only a few cement tanks and a few barrels. That's basically it.

The Vino Rosso is made entirely of Nebbiolo and is produced from a cluster of small parcels in the hills above Priocca. It is aged for three weeks on the skins, a year in barrels, and then another year in bottles. This wine, which is unlike any you would typically see from the Roero region and is more akin to great Barbaresco, truly changes the game for the region. The average annual production is a pitiful 1100–1500 bottles, and with only trace amounts reaching Australia, this is extremely little.