It's been a moment since we welcomed a fresh face to our Piedmont shelf — let alone one that brings a new style to the already exciting crop of growers in Barolo.

From family vines on the edge of Serralunga, Alessandro Salvano's "Drink Wines Not Labels" is a fascinating entry: everything is whole cluster, everything is macerated (yes, even the Chardonnay). Yet everything is still so Piedmontese.

Alessandro's day job is with an importer; with years spent bringing some of Europe's best into Piedmont, he has an exceptional palate (we hear, he's a brilliant blind taster) and a worldly lens that he brings to the family vines.

You can certainly taste it: his work with Burgundy obviously drove his approach to Chardonnay and (a highly touted) Pinot. But they are uniquely his; the Chardonnay seeing skin contact and the Pinot Nero with an infused, whole cluster style that would speak to fans of Claire Naudin.

Even the Piedmontese varietals are uniquely his, with an aromatic style that's impossible to put down.

After studying at Alba's Scuola Enologica and working all around Barolo and Barbaresco – most notably 3 years at Borgogno – Alessandro's work in the family vineyards began with his uncle's plot in Montelupo Albese. It's east of Serralunga and just outside the official Barolo zone (hence, 'Outside' below), but, quality knows no boundaries. And with that, DWNL began.

The Montelupo Albese site "outside & inside" as Alessandro puts it; photo via @drinkwinesnotlabels

That was 2019, and the below is his second release. He's since grafted over many vines (case in point, some Dolcetto has become Chardonnay) and the results are stunning. All farming is organic and completely by hand. And in the cellar, everything is fermented with whole clusters (in most cases 100%), macerated, and raised in a mix of stainless steel and large neutral oak. There's no fining or filtration, and sulfur use is minimal (or none).

2023 Drink Wines Not Labels Langhe Rosso $48
100% Dolcetto fermented with 100% whole clusters, with full malolactic conversion and aged in stainless steel. Silky, dark-fruited, savory, earthy.

2023 Drink Wines Not Labels Chardonnay, Langhe $50
Chardonnay macerated 8 days and fermented in concrete with 100% whole clusters. Fresh with a touch of skin contact-y texture, beautifully integrated and brings this cool climate Chardonnay into balance. Also, a zero sulfur wine.

2023 Drink Wines Not Labels Pinot Nero, Langhe $54
Pinot Noir fermented with 100% whole clusters, macerated 10 days and aged in large neutral oak. A defining wine for the project; it's extremely mineral, refined, with cooling forest vibes and a unique aromatic signature.

2023 Drink Wines Not Labels Langhe Nebbiolo $50
Nebbiolo fermented with 80% whole clusters and aged in stainless steel. A clean and lifted style, uniquely saline with bright red fruit, rose petal, oregano.

2021 Drink Wines Not Labels 'Outside' Langhe Nebbiolo $90
The wine that started it all, just one barrel made. Nebbiolo fermented with 80% whole clusters; it's also just on the edge of Barolo aging standards, aged for 38 months (18 in large oak cask). A very drinkable-now, oxygen-influenced Nebbiolo; like his basic Langhe Nebbiolo it's uniquely saline, driven by tobacco, dried cherry, forested aromatics.

Alessandro at the winery; photo via @drinkwinesnotlabels

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