Drop 31
THE CLOUD DRIVER
With Lapo Berti & DWNL
Drop 31 brings together two winemakers, two completely different journeys and two seriously ambitious expressions of Nebbiolo.
Lapo Berti is still flying far too quietly under the radar — but probably not for much longer. Born in Tuscany, he spent two decades travelling and working across some of the world’s greatest wine regions, learning from producers including Roberto Voerzio and Enzo Boglietti in Piedmont and Nicolas Potel in Burgundy. Today, he farms a handful of tiny parcels in La Morra with an almost obsessive attention to detail, producing precise, pure and deeply personal Barolo.
His Barolo Fossati 2021 comes from the high-altitude Fossati MGA in La Morra. It is classic Lapo: incredibly floral and refined, with bright red fruit, tension, fine tannins and that deceptive power hiding beneath all the elegance. A serious, long-lived Barolo from one of the most exciting producers you probably haven’t heard enough about yet.
And then there is Alessandro Salvano.
You already fell in love with the energetic, rebellious entry-level wines from his DWNL — Drink Wines, Not Labels project. Now it is time to meet the high end.
Outside is Alessandro’s ultimate statement. The Nebbiolo grows in his family vineyard in Montelupo Albese, only metres beyond the official Barolo border. The soils, farming and long élevage have everything we associate with great Barolo — but because of an invisible line on a map, the name can never appear on the bottle.
And honestly? Alessandro could not care less.
Outside is deeper, more structured and more profound than anything we have shown from him before, while keeping the wild energy and unmistakable personality that made us fall for his wines in the first place. This is not a baby Barolo or an alternative to Barolo. It is Outside — and it stands entirely on its own.
One wine carries the famous name. The other deliberately asks you to forget about it!
BAROLO FOSSATI 2021
Lapo Berti - La Morra, Piemont
This is the serious stuff.
Pure Nebbiolo from an organically farmed, east-facing parcel in the Fossati MGA of La Morra. Spontaneous fermentation, around four weeks on the skins, followed by 24 months in used 225- and 500-litre barrels. No fining, no filtration and only minimal sulphur.
Fossati 2021 is pure class: roses, wild strawberry, sour cherry and spice, backed by electric acidity, ultra-fine tannins and serious depth. Elegant, precise and quietly powerful — proper Barolo from one of La Morra’s most exciting names still flying way too far under the radar.
outside 2022
DWNL by Alessandro Salvano
DWNL — OUTSIDE
This is Alessandro Salvano at full power.
Outside is 100% Nebbiolo from organically farmed family vineyards in Montelupo Albese, just beyond the official Barolo DOCG border. Fermented with whole clusters and indigenous yeasts, followed by a long élevage inspired by traditional Barolo — then bottled unfined, unfiltered and with minimal sulphur.
This is the deepest, most structured and ambitious wine of the entire DWNL project: lifted, energetic and seriously complex, with the tannins, tension and ageing potential of great Nebbiolo. Alessandro calls it Outside because that is exactly where it comes from — outside the border, outside the classification and completely beyond what you expect from a Langhe Nebbiolo.
Barolo in everything but the name.
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L'Ouverture Rouge 2024
Maison Glandien - Meursault, Burgundy
L’Ouverture 2024 comes from two small Pinot Noir vineyards in Aluze — one planted in 1954, the other in 1978 — both west-facing on Oxfordian marl soils. The grapes go in the morning or afternoon straight into a cooling chamber overnight, sorted twice, whole-cluster into tank for a semi-carbonic maceration of 10 to 14 days. Punchdowns, hot fermentation temperatures of 32 to 35°C, long post-fermentation soaks, then a basket press after 20 to 25 days before the wine goes into barrel with some lees. No sulphur, native yeast, no fining, no filtration.
Only 2 barrels of 500L were produced. That’s it. That’s the whole wine.
This is Tino Kuban doing what he does best — taking two old, quiet vineyards and turning them into something with real identity.
APPLICATION
Important Note
Due to its limited availability, we want to ensure a fair distribution.
Country Allocations: Each country has a specific allocation of wine boxes. This approach helps us distribute the boxes fairly across different regions. I can only sell to the following countries: Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Austria.