Cascina degli Ulivi Mounbè

In one of the scenes from Natural Resistance, the Jonathan Nossiter documentary which tells of the difficulties Italian winemakers encounter, cultivating their lands with all due respect for nature, Steffano Bellotti appears, proudly holding a handful of the healthy earth from his parcels. That land is precisely where the Cascina degli Ulivi vineyards are embedded and cultivated bio-dynamically. The winery's philosophy, which is well summarised on the back labels of its wines, talks of how nature produces one of its finest fruits, first on the land and then in the winery. Without any intervention in the vineyards, with no added yeasts, no filtration, no correcting nor clarifying. Simply the must from grapes which ferment naturally.

Mounbè is a wine made using a coupage of Barbera, Dolcetto and Ancellotta, with the latter being a little known variety which provides colour and good sugar content. It's a wine which may have some sediment and needs time if it's to be enjoyed to the full; we advise decanting it before serving.

In the glass it appears a ruby-red colour, with garnet hues which indicate the start of evolution, as well as a clarity and brightness which prove its perfect condition. On the nose, the typical character of the Barbera grape is predominant: warm, mature and showing excellent acidity. Aromas of cherries, rhubarb, tobacco, liquorice, iron, plus balsamic and oregano notes. The first taste confirms our suspicions: a powerful freshness that will last in the bottle for years. A sprightly, flavoursome wine with fine tannins. Its alcohol content shouldn't be underestimated, but has absolutely no influence at all on the pleasure each sip provides.

A wine that doesn't deserve to be rushed. Uncork it and allow some time before enjoying it, perhaps with a tasty meat risotto... As we all know, there are some pleasures that are well worth a quiet wait.