I wasn’t at all familiar with Elio Sandri’s Cascina Disa wines until, about six or seven years ago, a bottle of his 2004 Perno Riserva Barolo was opened for me by a winemaker friend in the Langhe who called Elio one of the best Old School winemakers he knew, and one of the few whose wines he collected.  That sure got my attention!  And the wine did too.  With only seven hectares in the Perno cru in Monforte d’Alba at his disposal  and a total production of barely 10,000 bottles (that’s bottles), that 2004 was a wine that shined a gorgeous light on the attributes that make Monforte d’Alba, one of the most distinctive of Barolo’s communes .  Here was Perno’s piney, scorched earth intensity, its broad spiced cherry fruit, and the beef bouillon muscle one should always expect from Barolos in that commune.  And with a patch of Nebbiolo vines planted in 1937 and many more aged over 50 years, Sandri’s ultra-traditional hands-off approach works just perfectly.  It was an a-ha wine that set me on a search for more, a mission that finally bore fruit (so to speak) a year or so ago when Elio finally sent some wine our way: the 2011, and subsequently the 2012 Perno Riservae, both of which sold out on us in record time to rave reviews.  Since then, it’s been pretty sparse although I am told there is a 2016 out there on the water somewhere too but, for the moment, we have to content ourselves with Sandri’s delicious and savory 2018 Langhe Nebbiolo and a paltry few remaining bottles of 2015 Barolo Perno.   From a west facing exposure on the Cascina Disa property, the Langhe Nebbiolo is made entirely from vines that could readily be called Barolo but, instead, get a much shorter maceration and aging regimen in neutral wood of various capacities.  But, make no mistake about it, from fruit quality to winemaking, this is Monforte Barolo, just in a minor key- a savory, complex mélange of Monforte’s spicy, scorched earth notes, its deep, dusky red fruit and that omnipresent whiff of fresh rose petals.  The only Nebbiolo in the Sandri cellar that gets destemmed before fermenting, the difference is in the wine’s freshness- a bright zingy background that really frames the nicely delineated cherry candy and herbal flavors very nicely.  It’s a lovely balance between richness and liveliness, one that you’d love to drink tonight with a grilled leg of lamb, a bowl of braised beef or just a platter of smoked meats and rich nutty cheeses.  All the right stuff to cellar too!  It’s a rare treat from one of Barolo’s most fiercely independent and distinctive properties and very highly recommended.  But, you say, only the real thing will do.  Well, Sandri’s Barolo Perno is as spectacularly real as it gets! From fiftyish year-old vines on the downslope tenderloin of Perno, the grapes are fermented as whole clusters and aged in large old casks. The 2015 harvest’s abundant sunshine and long growing season created an Old School classic that features all of Perno’s power, tannin and iron-infused cherry fruit; the kind of wine you could use in a classroom to show wannabe sommeliers the attributes of Monforte Barolo. Though (who are we kidding here) it will be better after many years cellaring, it’s a Sandri that will begrudgingly show you its stuff if you decant well in advance and serve it in nice big glasses.  At least I am better that’s the case because I’ve earmarked a bottle for Christmas dinner this year! I have the last 24 bottles in northern California. Come get yours!    Vinous Media on the Barolo: The sort of wine you want to open and spend many hours with. Initially the tannins are searing, but over time the 2015 starts to come together. Scents of tobacco, cedar, dried cherry, mint and leather open gradually. On the palate, though, the wine is much less forthcoming. The 2015 is a Barolo of beguiling complexity and nuance that will give everything it has to offer on its own time schedule. 2023-2040.”Up to 50 year-old vines downslope from the Riserva on the same northeast-facing Perno hill. Neutral oak-aged (no new oak). 94 points