Some people are born into wine royalty. Imagine inheriting a Grand Cru in Burgundy or one of the historic names in Piedmont? Of those people, we can be jealous.

Then there are others who fight their way onto the scene. They are born far from the vine, but end up producing some of today’s most sought-after wines. Of those people, we can be truly impressed.

And that is the story of La and Lu. La is Lara Rochetti, Lu is Luisa Sala. Together they are Lalu, and today they make extremely sought-after Nebbiolo and Barolo. We have the Nebbiolo for you today.

Lara and Luisa were brought up far from wine country, in Turin. They became friends studying gastronomy in college, and ended up traveling overseas to learn how to make wine. But it was back in Europe where they met the winemakers who inspired them: Dominique Lafon and Cecile Tremblay in Burgundy, and the Obertos (of Trediberri fame) in La Morra. If you know those producers, you can start to imagine the kinds of wines that Lalu has in store for us.

They planted their first vines, in 2015, in the Cru of Roncaglie in La Morra — the village, where the Obertos also operate, known for its elegance and aromatics. Those vines are still too young to produce Barolo, so they supplement it with fruit from Monforte and make today’s wine.

This Nebbiolo is elegant, gorgeously aromatic, and highly drinkable, but it also manages to show flashes of the seriousness that wines from this part of the world are capable of. Macerations are kept on the short side to emphasize freshness and drinkability, and aging occurs in a mix of large Austrian wood casks and concrete.

This is a delicious wine, and a great opportunity to get to know these two emerging Barolo stars:

Azienda Agricola 499, Langhe Nebbiolo Lalu, 2022 $46.99