Producer

Matteo Ascheri

I have reviewed two wines from Matteo Ascheri, from the 2021 to 2024 vintages, across Langhe and Barolo. All are Nebbiolo. Scores range from 93 to 94, averaging 94; the highest is the 2021 Matteo Ascheri White Label Barolo (94 points).

Matteo Ascheri is a distinct voice in the Langhe. Based in Bra, just outside the Barolo zone, the winery has vineyards in Serralunga, La Morra and Verduno. Ascheri is known for his thoughtful, no-nonsense approach and for dark bottles designed to protect the wine from light strike, and he is a champion of Verduno Pelaverga, the spicy, peppery local grape. His wines are clean, precise and free of makeup.

Alongside powerful single-vineyard bottlings, the “White Label” Barolo is designed as a snapshot of the vintage. In the spectacular 2021 it is one of the great values of the year: open and fragrant, with crushed red cherry, wild raspberry and rose petals over licorice and wet stone, firm but fine-grained tannins, and a crunchy, living feel that makes it enjoyable without waiting two decades.

The Langhe Nebbiolo is the everyday proof of the same philosophy: pure, unmanipulated and fragrant, mirroring the ethereal side of the Barolo.