Alessandro Prandi makes about 2000 cases of wine each year in the centrally located village of Diano d’Alba just outside the limits of Barolo. He makes a little bit of everything at the winery founded by his great uncle Farinetti Cav. Majorino in 1920, but this Nebbiolo is grown in his “strongest” vineyards, south-facing sites with the most sunshine. This is a wine that has never made headlines, but ask anyone in Diano d’Alba for a wine recommendation and Prandi will come up first. This is a deep and dark wine with a strong backbone of rough hewn tannins and dense packed aromas of cherry cordial, cherrywood smoke, pipe tobacco, dried roses and tarry earth. The palate is filled with jet-black cherry, blackberry, and rustic earth notes that suggest Alessandros vines have dug deep into the chalky clay marls of southern Piedmont. This is a heavyweight Nebbiolo at a featherweight price, suitable for thick cuts of steak or pork, rich potato dishes, and earthy, pan roasted root vegetables cooked on cold nights.