The fabulous Vigna Rionda of Luigi Oddero

We’re heading to Piedmont, and a clutch of Barolos from a stellar producer at scarcely believable prices.

When Luigi Oddero passed away in 2009, just three years after splitting from his brother to found his own label, his wife Lena and children Maria and Giovanni faced an uphill battle to realise his ambitions. But in the years since, they have fulfilled his legacy to establish the estate as one of the stars of the Langhe.

With the help first of Dante Scaglione, and, since 2016, winemaker Francesco Versio – both of whom learned their craft at Bruno Giacosa – a traditional approach of long gentle extractions followed by ageing in large, old oak casks has been married to meticulous selections to yield classic, elegant, vivid wines.

It helps that Figli Luigi Oddero is blessed with some truly great vineyards – and none greater than Vigna Rionda, undoubtedly one of the finest crus of Piedmont and, indeed, according to Antonio Galloni, ‘one of the greatest vineyards in the world’. Luigi Oddero’s parcel is at the top of the Serralunga hill, where it benefits from a southerly exposure (Vigna Rionda means ‘round shape’, a nod to its all-day sunlight – though it could just as well apply to the breadth of the resultant wine).

We are fortunate enough to carry several vintages, which are released out of sequence, when the estate deems the wine fit to broach. Each carries the characteristics of the year. The rich, fleshy, bramble and plum notes of the 2012 are enveloped in a statuesque structure that lend a certain profundity to the wine, which is now unfurling nicely. The 2013, on the other hand, shows an earthy ‘sous bois’ nose followed by compact, powerful flavours on a deep-lying undertow and velvety palate.

2014 was a long, cool harvest, yielding lovely, lifted notes of fresh cherries, mountain herbs and fresh blueberry fruit amid beautifully integrated tannins. Meanwhile, the 2015 boasts a broad, dark fruit spectrum whose gloss covers a solid structure in wave after wave of bramble and morello cherry.

All are ready to drink and available at prices that, quite simply, will never get better.