Why it matters
The producer
Azienda Agricola Savigliano Pier Giorgio is a family farm in Valle Talloria, a hamlet within the Diano d'Alba comune in the Langhe hills of Piemonte. Three generations of Saviglianos have farmed here: Giovanni, who started the operation in 1941 in the nearby hamlet of Borgata Fossato; his son Domenico, who moved the family to Valle Talloria in 1963; and Pier Giorgio, who grew up at Via Cane Guido 43 learning vine pruning and grape-to-wine transformation from both his grandfather and his father.
The estate's two main wines carry the appellations that define its territory. Dolcetto di Diano d'Alba DOCG is the flagship: a dry red built around Dolcetto's low acidity and characteristic almond finish, fermented in steel and released for early drinking. Nebbiolo d'Alba DOC is the second wine: violet-scented, moderately tannic, and built from the same Nebbiolo that dominates the broader Langhe but labelled here under the DOC that covers Alba's surrounding hills rather than the Barolo or Barbaresco zones.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Diano d'Alba sits in the Langhe hills south of Alba, a comune with its own DOCG status built around Dolcetto rather than Nebbiolo. Most of the Langhe's prestige runs through Nebbiolo, through Barolo to the south-west and Barbaresco to the north-east. Diano d'Alba takes a different angle: its DOCG designation is for Dolcetto, a grape that ripens easily in the Langhe's clay and limestone soils and produces a soft, low-acid red that suits the local table.
Valley Talloria is a fraction of Diano d'Alba, a small valley address that puts the Savigliano farm among the slopes where the Dolcetto grape performs reliably and the Nebbiolo, grown for the DOC appellation rather than the more demanding DOCG zones, gives a more open and earlier-drinking expression than a Barolo or Barbaresco would.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
For the Dolcetto di Diano d'Alba DOCG, grapes are fermented in stainless steel tanks for six to seven days at controlled temperature. Frequent pumping over during fermentation extracts colour and body from the skins. The wine is bottled in February or March of the year following harvest and spends at least two months ageing in bottle before release. The wine is dry, with very low acidity and an almond aftertaste, and should be opened within two years of the vintage.
The Nebbiolo d'Alba DOC follows a different path. Skin contact runs for ten to eleven days, long enough to draw out Nebbiolo's natural tannin and extract the pigments that give the wine its ruby red colour and, with time, garnet reflections. Malolactic fermentation takes place in closed, sheltered environments, softening the acidity and rounding the wine's body. The tannins remain present at release and continue to integrate over one to two years in bottle.
Wines to know
The range in view
Dolcetto di Diano d'Alba DOCG. 100% Dolcetto. The DOCG status places this wine in a specific hill category within Diano d'Alba, distinct from the broader Langhe Dolcetto DOC. Fermented in steel with pumping over, bottled in late winter, and designed for the table within two years of harvest. The profile is dry and rounded, with very low acidity and an almond note on the finish. A wine for pasta, roasted vegetables, and the kind of everyday Piemontese meal that Dolcetto has served for generations.
Nebbiolo d'Alba DOC. 100% Nebbiolo. The DOC covers the hills around Alba outside the Barolo and Barbaresco zones, producing a Nebbiolo that carries the grape's characteristic violet perfume and moderate tannin without the extended cellaring requirement of the prestige appellations. Ruby red deepening to garnet at the rim, with a full, harmonious palate. Full on the palate, with a harmonious body and the violet scent that Nebbiolo delivers reliably in this territory.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
The Dolcetto di Diano d'Alba DOCG is where to begin. It is a 100% Dolcetto, fermented in steel for six to seven days, released in spring, and at its best in the first year after that. The wine is dry and soft, with very low acidity and a clean almond finish: everything Dolcetto does in its home territory on the Langhe hills. No oak, no ageing ambition, no extraction beyond what six days of pumping over delivers. It is a straightforward, honest bottle and that is exactly its value: it shows the grape, the place, and the family's approach without complication. Open it with food.