Trediberri

Nicola Oberto's family have lived in La Morra for many decades, his great-grandparents once rented their parcel in Rocche dell’Annunziata to the late Renato Ratti on the premise that he hired their son, Federico (Nicola’s father), who remained working at the estate until the early 2000s. After working in the local enoteca as a boy, Nicola pursued a career in finance, which he quickly left in favour of winegrowing, convincing his father to ‘go it alone’. In 2007, the ‘three from Berri’—Federico, Nicola, and Vladimiro—planted 5ha of vines. In 2010, having previously sold most of their crop, the trio bottled their first vintage.

Since then, Nicola and his partner, Stefania Drocco, have carefully tended their vines, rarely fertilising, encouraging cover crops, and opting not to hedge the apical shoots. Harvest takes place as late as pH will allow, carefully balancing phenolic ripeness with must stability—to this day, the pair’s winegrowing is distinctly sensible. In most cases, the Baroli undergo a relatively long maceration on the skins of 3 weeks or more in concrete, followed by two years ageing in large botti grandi. However, there are no hard rules, and the maceration and ageing can vary according to the vintage. Further, some vintages even include some stems if conditions are appropriate. Finally, the pair also incorporate modern methods like micro-oxidation to reduce reduction and soften tannins if vintage conditions yield challenging musts.

The resultant wines are delicate, clean and compelling, defined by freshness and perfume—the 2019 Rocche dell’Annunziata is the best of this estate, bursting from the glass and persisting on the palate. For now, Trediberri is keenly priced, but drinkers should buy smart; this won’t last forever.