Italy

A wine-loving ex-restaurateur, Alan Manley first gained experience in the cellars of Elio Altare, Sandrone and Cavallotto before moving to Piedmont in 2012 where he worked at the right hand of Maria Teresa Mascarello, daughter of the late Bartolo. After patiently searching for the right Nebbiolo parcels for his own project, Alan launched Cantina Margherita Otto in 2015, which he named after his grandparents.He now farms 3ha across tiny plots purchased in Monforte d'Alba and Castiglione Falletto, as well as a parcel which he rents on a long lease in Serraglunga d'Alba. He works his vines painstakingly by hand, weaving the long shoots into a cap instead of hedging them to protect the bunches from sunburn and hail.Holding to the traditionalist belief that great Barolo can only be made by blending crus to capture the different qualities of each site, Alan co-ferments fruit from all his parcels together in one tank in a cellar beneath his house in Monforte d'Alba. Racked into a Slovenian oak botte and several demijohns, it spends at least three years in barrel before bottling.Alan's Nebbiolos are old-school and remarkable. Fleshy without heaviness and profoundly complex, his Barolo seamlessly layers the rich perfume of Castiglione with the power of Monforte and elegance of Serralunga. Made from vines in Vignane as well as declassified Barolo fruit, his Langhe Nebbiolo is intoxicatingly fragrant and well suited to younger drinking.

Margherita Otto

Wines

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