This grape has a beautiful deep blue colour, a very juicy pulp and acidity, velvety skin and is firm with very compact grapes. They grow in pyramidal clusters on the vine and are high yielding grapes, not only for new varieties, but also for great long-ageing wine. It is a rich, tangy, full-bodied wine characterised by an intense ruby-red colour which graduates towards garnet red with age and whose flavours become more balanced and appealing as it matures.
Light tannin and high acidity result in an intense fruity bouquet of prune, ripe cherry, blackberry and raspberry. If it is consumed earlier in the ageing process, it has a dry taste with good acidity, pleasantly fresh, flowery and fragrant that can be quite easily paired with most dishes.
This wine is typical of Montferrat in Piedmont and is paired excellently with rich dark meats, mushrooms, herbs, herbaceous cheeses like blue cheese, higher tannin foods like root vegetables and braised greens. The idea here is that the high acidity in the wine will make a rich, fatty or high tannin dish complete. Moreover, it accompanies pleasantly with traditional Piedmontese medium-aged cheeses such as Toma, Murazzano, Raschera etc.