It’s not always the case that hype and rarity equate to quality, yet that’s certainly the case with Tom Myers’ tiny Piemonte start-up. It was always going to be fascinating to see what this talented, Burgundy-inspired winegrower would bring to the production of Piemontese Nebbiolo, and now we have a pretty good idea. “My favourite wines have always offered both finesse and hedonistic pleasure,” he told us last year. “I want to achieve that with Nebbiolo as well. Nebbiolo is a brilliant grape aromatically, but at times, it can be hard work to drink. I want my wines to make people smile as well as think.” So, it has come to pass: Tom’s early releases are wines that will both fascinate and put a smile on the faces of the lucky few who get to taste them. Myers’ connection to Burgundy and the great growers of France runs deep. A talented and deep-thinking young vigneron, he honed his skills in the great vineyards of Burgundy, the Rhône Valley, New Zealand, Australia and the Jura. His deep knowledge of best practice in the vineyard and cellar is evident to anyone who knows him. It has led to his consulting in Australia, Burgundy, and California. Moving to Piemonte in 2017, Tom worked with Barolo’s iconic Rinaldi family, who later introduced him to the owners of the vines that he now leases: a small parcel in Barolo’s Preda Cru (that he shares with his good friend, Philine Isabelle Dienger) nestled between Cannubi and Vignane. Preda faces east at the end of the Bussia Valley. Myers’ hectare of vines contains a large portion of old vines rooted in the sandy Sant’Agata marls prominent in this canton of Barolo. Covered by a thin layer of silt, the structure of these soils reminds Myers more of the lighter terroir of Ravera than, say, the profound clay-rich Brunate cru. Preda in his hands (we’ll discuss his winemaking below) results in aromatic, lacy Barolo of wonderful finesse and approachability. As Myers puts it, we’re “more on vibrant fruit and flowers rather than dried fruit, tannin and spice.” The 2020 Barolo Preda is a thing of beauty. Now working out of a small cantina on the Barolo-Novello road, Myers’ diminutive cellar is a reminder that you don’t need a lot to make great wines. His philosophy is a distillation of more than 12 years of experience with some of the world’s finest growers and leans on the great cellars of the Côte d’Or as much as the more famous cantinas of Piemonte. Myers brushes the wine onto the canvas rather than forcing it, with natural ferments, judicious use of bunches, restrained extraction and early bottling underpinning his fruit = terroir approach. Myers’ work with whole bunches—seldom encountered in high percentages in Piemonte—adds a great deal, helping to bring pretty primary aromas and finesse. “Good young, good old,” the great Burgundian Henri Jayer would say. In a region where tenderness and purity can be scarce, Myers is clearly aiming for wines that give seduction early yet equally age well. Whether it’s the cherry-fruited succulence of the Langhe Nebbiolo or the lucid, Burgundy-comes-to-Piemonte clarity of the Barolo Preda that gets you, both wines suggest he is onto something big.