What a Wondeful Wine

Some twenty years ago we were cruising through the vineyards of the Langhe, the heart and soul of Piemonte wine county. It has a good deal in common with Burgundy - there's a patchwork of vine lots, hundreds of growers, one dominant (in quality) grape variety, being Nebbiolo, and some very serious and very expensive wines. Although nebbiolo constitutes only 3 percent of all plantings - the most popular variety being barbera - it is THE vine most readlily associated with the great wines of Barolo and Barbaresco. These regions are like twins separated at birth, a bit like Syrah in Hermitage and Côte Rotie in the northern Rhone region in France. Barolo would then be the Hermitage, and Barbaresco the softer, gentler, more feminine Côte Rotie.
Off the beaten track, and somewhat at the periphery of the established communes of Monforte, Serralunga, Castiglione, La Morra and Barolo, we passed a sign near Novello in the sign, which read "Azienda Elvio Cogno". I quickly braked - Cogno, whas that not the grower with pre-phylloxera vines? But - was that not in La Morra, and not here?
Anyway, we pulled over, and were warmly received by a man which I guess was Valter Fissore, Cogno's son in law and then - and still - winemaker par excellence, making some of the best barolos around.
We tasted some of his wines in very large glasses, and he showed us a map of the region with the patchwork of vineyards. We were young then, and cash was short, so we bought only some dolcetto and barbera, and the our Opel Kadett was filled, and the good man threw in somelabels since he saw that carried my intrest. No one makes more beautiful, stylish wine lables than the Italians. In those days the Bricco del Merle label showed an exquisite blackbird drawing, and the Vigna del Mandorlo (dolcetta) had blossoming trees in its label.
Last week was father's day, and high time to taste yet a Cogno wine. My dolcettos and barbereas long depleted, we took the great Barola Ravera, which I bought at Divo. Wine is a great gift because it is specifically linked to time and place - and memories.