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Argiano is many people’s touchstone Brunello. Tucked away in the far south-western limits of Brunello production, away from the main clusters of estates, the late Renaissance hilltop villa of Argiano looks down on its vineyards. Monte Amiata hulks nearby. It’s a spectacular site, with a long history of winemaking – there have been vineyards on this hill for at least 500 years.
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Cantina Bartolo Mascarello is one of Barolo’s most revered domaines. It was founded in 1919 by Giulio Mascarello, who had been trained by his father Bartolomeo, the cellarmaster at the Cantina Sociale di Barolo. In a novel move at the time, Giulio borrowed money and started his own winery. In those days it was still relatively easy to acquire great parcels in great vineyards. Giulio was followed by his son Bartolo, who had spent the war years fighting the Germans as a partisan in the Langhe hills.
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The rolling hills of Conegliano Valdobiaddene are the heartland, the Classico if you will of Prosecco production. But it isn`t just a monoculture. there are south-facing vineyards interspersed with forests on the northern slopes and meadows and fields in between.
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When we first visited Bruna Grimaldi in Grinzane Cavour, we felt we had met a young winemaker of real promise. Simone was doing everything you would want to see. all the vineyards converted to organics in 2014; the new but traditionally appointed winery; modern training, all married to a respect for the traditional culture and wines of Piedmont which comes from being the fourth generation farming these hills.
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If Bruno Giacosa is such a great winemaker, why has he only made wine in 16 out of the last 20 vintages? Honesty and integrity are vital elements of quality, and Bruno believed that in 91, 92, 94 and 06 he didn`t have the quality he needed to produce exceptional wines and so he declassified his single vineyard `crus` entirely. That takes both courage and integrity, and demonstrates why Bruno is taken so seriously. Now in his early eighties, this meticulous vigneron has worked in his family`s vineyards and cellars for almost seventy years.
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The Cabutto family bought the La Volta farm back in 1920. Nestled by La Volta castle (it`s known as the `abode of the devil` due to some particularly wild legends) the winery overlooks the town of Barolo. For an estate of its age and size - they control around 20 hectares of vines - it is hardly known in the UK at all. They work rigorously in the vineyards and while they follow a very traditional path, the cellars are bang up to date. Tasting here, you can see why these wines became so highly prized by other winemakers. (EE 10/07/19)
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Dott. G. Cappellano is a very singular company. They invented the medicalisation of Barolo with the Chinato and members of the family spent time in north Africa, especially Eritrea and Tunisia researching phylloxera-resistant vines. Teobaldo also began the custom that visiting critics should not score the wines, though they can write as expansive tasting notes as they like. His son and current incumbent Augusto continues that proud tradition. Ignore it and you`ll never visit again.
The wines themselves include a range og Barolo from grafted and ungrafted vines.
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Castello Romitorio went from Roman fort to monastery to stately home to fort again, all by the Rinascimento. Subsequently it led a shabby life and was completely abandoned after the Second World War. It was purchased, and an attempt at restoration begun in the 1970s, but in 1984 the Chia family bought it. Sandro - a famous artist - was the instigator who first rejuvenated the estate and now his son Filippo has for some time been working to realise the full potential. 2015 is perhaps the year that shows these great vineyards at their best.
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Cerbaiona is a name to conjure with in Montalcino. Tucked away in the eastern edge of the commune, this small, favoured estate has long produced some of the most sought-after of any Brunello, from only 3 hectares of old vines. It has been well-established at the head of the pack since the 1980s, but has a much longer history. There have been highly regarded vineyards on this site for hundreds of years - the name ‘Cerbaiona’ was known and sought after before anyone ever asked for a ‘Brunello’.
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Corte Sant`Alda is Marinella`s enterprise and she farms biodynamically to both protect the environment and to make intense but fresh and drinkable wines. Adalia is farmed organically; the intention here is to combine the healthiest possible farming together with affordability. Marinella considers biodynamics as the gold standard in both the vineyard and cellar but this is an expensive method of farming; Adalia was set up with her daughter to provide great wine at a good price. The farm buzzes with life. -
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The inimitable Domenico Clerico is perhaps not the first master Piedmont winemaker we feature that spring to mind at a moment`s notice. Domenico is a man who would probably have a short career in retail but he`d go down a storm on a City trading floor. One visitor who claimed to be something of an expert was given three samples at the start of his interview. After discussing the differences in the three terroirs apparent in the samples, Clerico showed him the identical bottles they had come from and terminated the appointment. -
It is Novello’s premier estate, and a rising star in Barolo - it also sits smack in the middle of the great Ravera cru. Elvio Cogno founded his eponymous winery when he already had most of a lifetime’s experience making Barolo behind him; these days, the winery is very skilfully managed by his son-in-law Valter Fissore. Cascina Nuova is a glorious and approachable wine made from a selection of the youngest vines in Ravera; Barolo Ravera is the winery’s calling card, made from some particularly old vines.
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Thanks to the Alessandria family, the once under-the-radar village of Verduno has been firmly put on the map. While the family has been making fine Barolos here for five generations, quality has never been higher than now; under the stewardship of current incumbent Vittore Alessandria, the estate`s profile has soared. Vittore can seem like a pretty serious fellow, till he breaks into a huge smile and stops trying to hide the fact he loves what he`s doing. And he`s got reason to be pleased.
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Serralunga is the most south-easterly commune of Barolo, and Giovanni Rosso think of themselves as a Serralunga producer as much as a Barolo producer. The family has owned vineyards here since the 1890s, but only bottled under their own label since 1995. They still aren`t as well known as they deserve to be - as Jamie Goode writes, `While this isn`t one of the best known Barolo estates, it is one of the best`. Ambitious and upcoming he may be, but Davide Rosso, who took over in 2001, is no Barolo modernist. He works organically whenever possible. -
The one word to sum up Mascarello would be tradition. Established in 1881, it appears very little has moved on, both with the wines and the family. All the work is done in the vineyards with meticulous attention to detail and in the winery their philosophy has changed little over the last century. There is no chance of them following trends for new French oak or rotary fermenters; they continue to produce wine the only way they know how. In the winery (an old ice house) all the automated stainless steel tanks say ‘emergencia’ on them and even this is ignored!
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Il Poggione is one of the founding estates of the Brunello di Montalcino Consortium and has been selling wine since the early 1900s. The estate is still owned by the family, with Leopoldo and Livia Franceschi in charge these days. The day to day running is under the control of Fabrizio Bindocci, who has worked there since 1976 and is the current president of the Consortium.
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As my colleague Zoë said once about Stefano Inama- `well, he puts the suave into Soave!` But there is much more to Stefano than the role of charmer. Much happier as farmer, he manages the family domaine with meticulous farming practice.
Whenever I want to show a foreign visitor just how good Soave wines can be, I never hesitate to open any of the estate’s very fine white wines, especially the Soave Classico du Lot (rich, deep, judiciously oak-aged, and of a Burgundian complexity) or the Soave Classico Vigneti di Foscarino (leaner, crisp, lemony, mineral).
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Andrea Mantengoli is adamant about a lot of things, but particularly about his Brunello. You must be organic, is one essential part of his philosophy. He explains that the terroir is so good that not only don’t you need ‘chemical poisons’ to produce fruit, but that they’ll destroy the identity of the wine.
