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Luciano Sandrone, an icon of Barolo wine dies

The Italian winemaker, a great innovator of Barolo in the 1980s, died at the age of 76 after a long battle with cancer.

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Luciano Sandrone has died at the age of 76 after a long battle with cancer. The Italian winegrower was one of the standard-bearers of the movement to raise the quality of Barolo wine for four decades. Although he entered the world of wine in the late 1970s, it was not until 1985 that he achieved a certain notoriety with his wine Cannubi Boschis.

Over the years he added Barolo Le Vigne, a blend of several vineyards. And from the 2013 vintage, Barolo Talin, from a special clone of Nebbiolo. From this date Sandrone also renamed his Cannubi Boschis Aleste (with a play on words referring to the names of the grandchildren, Alessia and Stefano). They, together with his daughter Barbara and his brother Luca Sandrone will be in charge of continuing the family business.

Sandrone was considered one of the ‘Barolo Boys’, young Barolo producers who came up with new ideas and learned from other wine regions. His wines are characterised by a special silkiness and finesse. After the traditional maceration fermentation, the wines mature in tonneaux, 500-litre oak barrels. He described himself as an “open-minded traditionalist”. The legacy he has left in the world of wine will now live on forever.

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