Don't judge a book by its cover, and don't judge a wine by its colour. While this northern Italian red, made from the obscure variety Pelaverga, has very light colour and pretty, red fruited fragrance, it also has smokey mezcal-like undertones, and the most amazing sinewy, tense structure. It's satiating and we adore it. 

Castello di Verduno is a historic Piemonte estate based in Verduno, the northern most commune of Barolo. With vineyards in both Barolo and Barbaresco, the focus is very much on Nebbiolo, but their expressions of Pelaverga excite us equally. The estate’s ‘traditionalist’ approach involves long skin macerations, and aging in large Slovenian ‘Botti’. Organic practices guide their approach in the vineyard.