Cascina Adelaide Langhe Nascetta del Comune di Novello 2021

Nascetta is a rare, indigenous white grape native exclusively to the limestone hills of Novello, a village in the Langhe sub-region of Piedmont. First documented in the late 19th century, this temperamental, low-yielding variety was nearly abandoned by local farmers in favor of easier crops, pushing it to the brink of extinction. Its modern renaissance began in the 1990s when a small group of visionary local winemakers rediscovered its potential and began replanting it in prestigious, grand cru terroir—such as Novello’s highly prized Ravera vineyard. To protect this revived heirloom, the strict Langhe Nascetta del Comune di Novello DOC was established in 2010, requiring 100% purity, mandatory sourcing within Novello's borders, and lower crop yields to enforce the highest standards of quality. Viticulturally, Nascetta behaves much like a red grape due to its thick, phenol-rich skins, late-ripening nature, and vibrant natural acidity. These characteristics give it a dual personality in the glass. When young, its fundamental varietal imprint releases fresh aromas of wild resin, honey, pineapples, and Mediterranean sage, alongside crisp green citrus fruits. However, its unique chemical composition grants Nascetta an exceptional resistance to oxidation and a structural backbone not usual for a Piedmontese white, allowing it to age successfully in a cellar for at least 8 years. As it matures, the fresh fruit gives way to a richer, deeply savory complexity and a distinct mineral tension drawn directly from the region's ancient, fossil-rich clay-limestone soils.

When wine lovers talk about the Langhe region of Piedmont, they are almost always talking about Barolo. And when they talk about Barolo, they talk about the legendary Eleven Communes—the exclusive club of villages permitted to grow it. Novello is one of those historic eleven. Tucked into the southwestern corner of the appellation, Novello sits on a high, wind-swept plateau. While its neighbors often grab the mainstream headlines, sommeliers and insiders know Novello as a master of dual identities. It shapes some of the most elegant, structural red wines on earth, but it also possesses a highly specific microclimate and soil profile that make it the undisputed birthplace and spiritual guardian of Nascetta, the Langhe's only truly native white grape.

To honor this history, the region enforces a strict, hyper-local appellation called Langhe Nascetta del Comune di Novello DOC. Unlike standard regional whites, this specialized designation mandates that the wine must be 100% pure Nascetta grown strictly within Novello's town boundaries under ultra-low yields. Cascina Adelaide takes this quality standard a step further by planting their Nascetta in the crown jewel of the commune: the legendary Ravera vineyard. Ravera is a globally recognized single-vineyard MGA (the Italian term for a designated grand cru) celebrated for shaping world-class, long-lived Barolo. By dedicating a plot of this elite red wine real estate to a rare white grape, Cascina Adelaide makes a bold statement about just how serious Nascetta can be.

The magic of the Ravera vineyard in Novello comes from what’s beneath the vines. The site is anchored in a highly prized, ancient soil formation known as Marne di Sant’Agata fossili, a dense, compact mixture of calcareous clay, silty marl, and gray marine fossils left behind by a prehistoric sea millions of years ago. The clay in this mixture acts like a sponge, regulating water so the vines do not stress during hot summers, which ultimately gives the grapes a rich, textured weight on the palate. Meanwhile, the heavy concentration of limestone acts like a lightning rod for freshness, limiting the vines' vigor and forcing them to channel intense mineral energy directly into the fruit. For the Nascetta grapes grown here, this subterranean combination creates an unmistakable structural tension, offering a broad, mouth-coating texture balanced by a sharp, flinty, almost salty mineral drive.

Ravera’s specific geography plays just as massive a role in how the grapes ripen. Because the vineyard sits at a relatively high altitude on a southwest-facing amphitheater right on the edge of the Tanaro River valley, it catches cool alpine breezes blowing down from the nearby mountains. This positioning creates a dramatic diurnal temperature swing, meaning the days are warm and sun-drenched, but the nights drop to a crisp chill. The daytime warmth allows the grapes to fully develop their complex aromatic compounds and natural sugars, while the nighttime chill hits the pause button on ripening, locking in the grape's natural, vibrant acidity. This constant temperature see-saw extends the growing season well into autumn, allowing the grapes to hang on the vine longer to slowly absorb the complex nuances of the limestone soil without losing their bracing freshness. In the Ravera vineyard, you get the absolute best of both worlds: sun-ripened fruit complexity framed by a cool-climate mineral backbone.