SICILIAN / A.MU’NIN.NI / 1. (LITERALLY) LET'S GO 2. AN EXPRESSION OF ENCOURAGEMENT,DISBELIEF, INSISTENCE, ETC.: COME ON, GO ON, LET'S GO
SICILIAN / A.MU’NIN.NI / 1. (LITERALLY) LET'S GO 2. AN EXPRESSION OF ENCOURAGEMENT,DISBELIEF, INSISTENCE, ETC.: COME ON, GO ON, LET'S GO
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RENATO MOLINO
LA MORRA, PIEMONTE
LAST JANUARY WE TRAVELED THROUGH PIEMONTE VISITING WINEMAKERS AND DISCOVERING BOTTLES ALONG THE WAY. ON OUR FINAL NIGHT WE WERE HAVING DINNER AT THE WONDERFUL SCANNABUE IN TORINO AND BEGAN TO RECOUNT OUR TRIP. THERE WAS ONE BOTTLE THAT WE COULDN’T SHAKE FROM OUR MEMORY. IT WAS AN UNASSUMING SOMEWHAT CLASSIC BAROLO LABEL THAT WE TASTED BY CHANCE. THE NOSE WAS FULL OF TRUFFLE AND CRUSHED LEAVES. THE PALATE RICH BUT DELICATE. WE DECIDED TO DO A LITTLE RESEARCH OVER DINNER WHILE SIPPING OUR FIRST AND ONLY FRENCH WINE OF THE TRIP.
THERE’S NOT MUCH OUT THERE WHEN YOU LOOK UP THE NAME ‘RENATO MOLINO’ BUT WHAT WE DID FIND ONLY FURTHERED OUR INTEREST. BY THE TIME WE FOUND A PHONE NUMBER IT WAS 10 PM, THOUGH UNSURE IF IT WAS ACCURATE OR WHETHER SOMEONE WOULD PICK UP, WE RANG. A WOMAN’S VOICE, THICK IN PIEMONTESE DIALECT, ANSWERED THE PHONE. WE DID THE BEST WE COULD TO EXPLAIN WHY WE WERE CALLING SO LATE IN THE NIGHT. “RENATO, RENATO,” SHE YELLED OUT. AFTER SOME BACK AND FORTH WE WERE PRETTY SURE WE HAD SET A MEETING FOR THE NEXT DAY. WE WERE SUPPOSED TO LEAVE ITALY IN THE MORNING BUT FELT WE NEEDED TO VISIT RENATO AND DECIDED TO CHANGE OUR PLANS TO DO SO.
A HAUNTING DRIVE THROUGH THE MORNING FOG OF BAROLO AND WE ARRIVE IN ANNUNZIATA, A TINY HAMLET WITHIN LA MORRA, AND ARE GREETED BY RENATO, HIS WIFE MADDALENA, AND HIS 4 DAUGHTERS: CHIARA, AN OENOLOGIST AND AGRONOMIST, GRAZIA, WITH A DEGREE IN ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, OLIMPIA AND LUCIA. WE ARE EAGER TO SEE IF THE WINES HOLD UP TO OUR MEMORIES, IF THEY WERE WORTH THE CHANGE OF PLANS. FIRST, HOWEVER, WE MUST VISIT THE VINES. WE HIKE AND CLIMB THROUGH THE NEIGHBORS’ PLOTS TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH RENATO’S STEADY PACE (DESPITE HIM BEING MORE THAN TWICE OUR AGE) WHILE ENRAPTURED BY THE STORIES FROM HIS CHILDHOOD, CLIMBING INSIDE BARRELS WITH A CANDLE TO CLEAN OUT RESIDUE. ALL HE KNOWS IS THIS LAND AND BAROLO IS ALL HE HAS EVER DRANK. THE FOG SHIFTS AND THE SUN IS COMING OUT. THERE’S SOMETHING DIFFERENT ABOUT HIS VINES. IT’S WINTER, COLD AND DAMP, BUT WHILE THE NEIGHBORS’ PLOTS ARE MUDDY, RENATO’S ARE GREEN AND TEEMING WITH LIFE.
HIS HOLDINGS TOTAL 3.8 HECTARES WITH PARCELS IN ROCCHE DELL’ANNUNZIATA (LA MORRA), ANNUNZIATA (LA MORRA), BOIOLO (LA MORRA), AND VILLERO (CASTIGLIONE FALLETTO), A PRIME PARCEL IMMEDIATELY ABOVE GIUSEPPE MASCARELLO’S HOLDINGS.
AFTER WARMING UP IN THE VINEYARD WE’RE BACK AT CASCINA ROCCHE DELL’ANNUNZIATA. IT’S THE ORIGINAL FAMILY FARMHOUSE AND ALSO THE WINERY. RENATO ORGANIZES US INTO A SINGLE FILE. TO GET FROM ROOM TO ROOM, WHERE ONCE WAS A DOOR, WE MUST SLITHER THROUGH A NARROW PASSAGEWAY IN BETWEEN LARGE WINE BARRELS. THE WHOLE GROUND FLOOR, KITCHEN AND DINING ROOM INCLUDED, IS HOME TO BARRELS AND OTHER VESSELS. THE FAMILY EATS AND SITS AMONG THE WINES AND EACH BARREL HAS A NAME AS THOUGH THEY WERE FAMILY TOO.
THE CANTINA WAS FOUNDED BY RENATO’S GRANDFATHER LUIGI IN 1926. FROM LUIGI IT WENT TO RENATO’S FATHER ANTONIO AND THEN TO RENATO. THE FAMILY TRADITIONALLY SOLD WINE IN BULK, ONLY BOTTLING FOR IMPORTANT YEARS SUCH AS BIRTHS IN THE FAMILY. NEARLY 100 YEARS ON AND NOT MUCH HAS CHANGED, BUT IN 2012 RENATO BEGAN BOTTLING EVERYTHING.
THE WINEMAKING IS THAT OF THEIR ANCESTORS AND PAINSTAKINGLY DONE BY HAND. LATE HARVESTS AND GRAPE SELECTION. THE PRESS IS MANUAL AND ORIGINAL. BARRELS ARE LARGE SLAVONIAN OAK, NEVER BARRIQUE. HIGH SUGAR AND LONG SLOW FERMENTATIONS. RENATO WAKES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT FOR BATONNAGE. PATIENCE IS THEIR PILLAR. THEIR BAROLOS AGE A MINIMUM OF FOUR YEARS BEFORE RELEASE. RENATO QUIPS HE’D RATHER SELL IN BULK BUT IT’S CHIARA WHO KEEPS HIM IN CHECK, WORKING CLOSELY WITH HER FATHER TO PRESERVE THE FAMILY LEGACY. RENATO CLAIMS CHIARA HAS THE BETTER NOSE BUT SHE SAYS SHE STILL HAS MUCH TO LEARN FROM HIM. WE ARE CONFIDENT THE WINERY IS IN THE RIGHT HANDS NOW AND IN THE FUTURE.
WE ARE HONORED TO BRING IN RENATO’S ‘BAROLO DOCG’ (ALSO IN MAGNUM), BAROLO DOCG ‘ROCCHE DELL’ANNUNZIATA’, AND ‘SPLUVA,’ A NON-APPELLATION NEBBIOLO MADE FROM A SMALL PARCEL BY THEIR HOME. BAROLO DOCG VILLERO WILL COME WITH THE NEW YEAR.
SPLUVA 2022 (NEBBIOLO)
BAROLO DOCG 2019
BAROLO DOCG 2019 MAGNUM
BAROLO DOCG ROCCHE DELL’ANNUNZIATA 2019
LA VEDETTA
BARBARESCO, PIEMONTE
LA VEDETTA OWNS A SMALL PORTION OF LAND, ABOUT THREE AND A HALF HECTARES, IN THE HILLS AROUND BARBARESCO, MOSTLY IN THE CRU CA’ GROSSA.
THE VINEYARDS OF BARBARESCO, LIKE MOST PLACES THAT HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH A LAND AND A TRADITION THAT LET THEM EMERGE AMONG THE BEST WINE REGIONS IN THE WORLD, ARE A PUZZLE OF SCORES OF DIFFERENT MICRO-PROPERTIES, EACH ONE BELONGING TO A DIFFERENT WINERY WANTING TO ASSOCIATE THEIR BOTTLES WITH WHAT IS REFERRED TO AS AN MGA (ADDED GEOGRAPHICAL MENTION) OR, FOR SIMPLICITY, A CRU. UNLIKE FRANCE, THE ITALIAN CRU SYSTEMS IS NOT HIERARCHICAL, BUT MERELY GEOGRAPHICAL, AND WHILE THAT PREVENTS THE INEVITABLE FOSSILIZATION OF A SYSTEM EVERY YEAR MORE OBSOLETE, IT IS ALSO THE REASON WHY, EVEN THOUGH WE MAY KNOW THE NAME OF SOME CRUS OF BAROLO OR BARBARESCO, WE HAVE LESS OF A SENSE OF WHAT THAT WINE IS TO SUPPOSED TO TASTE LIKE, OR WHAT SETS IT APART FROM ITS NEIGHBORING CRUS.
THIS IS WHY ‘CA’ GROSSA’ IS SO SPECIAL. A COMBINATION OF FAMILY HISTORY AND VISION HAS ALLOWED MARCO VIGLINO TO OWN ALMOST THE ENTIRETY OF THIS MICRO MGA. THE ATTEMPT IS TO PRODUCE A BARBARESCO THAT WILL BE A UNIQUE EXPRESSION OF THIS SOUTH-EASTERN FACING CRU, WHOSE SOILS ARE MARLY AND SANDY. A BARBARESCO CRU SYNONYMOUS WITH THE WINERY THAT TRULY REFLECTS MARCO’S FORWARD-THINKING WINEMAKING.
MARCO SAYS THAT HIS STORY IS THAT OF A COMEBACK, AFTER YEARS STUDYING AND WORKING AWAY FROM HOME, IN 2016 HE DECIDED TO RETURN TO ITALY WITH HIS WIFE SWANTJE TO “RECLAIM THE FAMILY VINEYARDS AND PUT THEM TO GOOD USE” WITH THE HELP OF HIS UNCLE MICHELE “WHO KNOWS THIS LAND BY HEART.” MARCO’S PROJECT IS AN ODE TO HIS HOMELAND, TO WHAT HE CALLS ITS “SIMPLE COMPLEXITY,” ROOTED IN TRADITIONS THAT ARE MUCH OLDER THAN THE FORTUNES THAT TRANSFORMED A RURAL PLACE INTO THE CENTER OF THE WORLD.
MARCO SAYS THAT HE HIS BOUND TO TWO THINGS, THE LEGENDARY WINE-HERITAGE OF BARBARESCO AND THE UNIQUE TERROIR OF CA’ GROSSA. BESIDES THAT, MARCO STRIVES TO FIND HIS OWN VOICE ON THE CROWDED STAGE OF THE LANGHE, AND HIS WEAPON OF CHOICE IS SIMPLICITY, TO MAKE WINES THAT ARE FREE FROM ADDITIVES, BIAS AND DOGMA.
ALONGSIDE THE BARBARESCO DOCG CA’ GROSSA, WE HAVE RECEIVED SMALL QUANTITIES OF MARCO’S BARBERA, NEBBIOLO AND FREISA. THREE MONO-VARIETAL EXPRESSIONS OF THIS WONDERFUL SLIVER OF PIEMONTE.
BARBARESCO DOCG CA GROSSA’2021
BARBERBA D’ASTI DOCG SARASINO 2023
FREISA D’ASTI DOC SARASINO 2023
LANGHE NEBBIOLO DOC 2023
cherubini
brescia, lombardiA
MATTIA CORBELLINI OF AZIENDA AGRICOLA CHERUBINI HARVESTS JUST TWO HECTARES OF VINES ON A HILL THAT MARKS THE EASTERN BORDER OF FRANCIACORTA WITHIN THE BOUNDS OF THE PARCO DELLE COLLINE DI BRESICA, A NATURE PRESERVE. HIS POSITION WITHIN THESE PROTECTED AREA HAS BEEN VITAL TO THE HEALTH OF HIS VINEYARDS. NO NEW CONSTRUCTION IS ALLOWED IN THE AREA AND THE FOREST THAT COVERS THE HILLTOP AND OFFERS THE VINE A BUFFER FROM DISEASES AND A SOURCE OF BIODIVERSITY CANNOT BE TOUCHED.
MATTIA LIVES ON THE PREMISES OF THE AZIENDA WITH HIS WIFE AND TWIN SONS IN A CASCINA THAT HE PURCHASED IN 2011 BUT WAS BUILT IN 1965. THAT DATE IS IMPORTANT AS IT PREDATES THE INCEPTION AND FORTUNES OF THE DOC (NOW DOCG) FRANCIACORTA (ESTABLISHED 1967). PRACTICALLY ALL OF THE VINEYARDS OF FRANCIACORTA ARE PLANTED ON FLAT LAND THAT OFFERS EASY ACCESS TO MECHANICAL MACHINERY MEANT TO AID IN THE INDUSTRIALIZED HARVESTING OF THE GRAPES DEDICATED TO THE PRODUCTION OF THE SPARKLING WINES THAT HAVE MADE THE REGION FAMOUS, BUT AZIENDA AGRICOLA CHERUBINI DECIDED TO DEDICATE THE FLAT PORTION OF THEIR PROPERTY TO FOOD CROPS, WHILE PLANTING VINES ON A STEEP SLOPE, MORE NATURALLY CONDUCIVE TO QUALITY GRAPES.
THE HILL’S STEEPNESS AND AN OLD PERGOLA SYSTEM, AS BEAUTIFUL AS IT IS IMPRACTICAL, MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO FARM THIS GRAPES MECHANICALLY AND DICTATE A DEEPLY ARTISANAL, ENTIRELY MANUAL APPROACH TO VITICULTURE, WHICH MATTIA EXTENDS TO THE CELLAR, WHERE HE PERFORMS EVERY TASK PERSONALLY AND MANUALLY, FROM DISGORGING TO LABELING.
IN A TINY, COLD CELLAR MATTIA HAS STACKED 52 BARRELS THAT HE WORKS WITH THE LOWEST POSSIBLE INTERVENTION TO PRODUCE WINES THAT, WHILE OUTSIDE THE DOCG FRANCIACORTA, HELP US RETHINK THIS APPELLATION, WHICH IS NOW AS POPULAR AS IT IS STALE. IT WAS PRECISELY TO DEFY THE STALENESS AND COMMERCIAL STANDARDIZATION THAT MATTIA (FORMERLY A SOMMELIER) RECOGNIZED WAS TAKING OVER THE DENOMINATION THAT IN 2011 HE DECIDED TO TAKE MATTERS INTO HIS OWN HANDS AND PRODUCE SPARKLING WINES THAT HE WOULD BE EXCITED TO DRINK.
OVER A DECADE LATER, MATTIA’S WINES POSSESS A CHARM AND A CHARACTER UNIQUE TO HIS WINERY. “MY WINES,” MATTIA SAYS, “ARE LIKE FLOWERS,” AND, TRULY, HIS FOUR CUVÉES, IN THEIR DELICATE SIMPLICITY, DO OFFER A STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL EXPRESSION OF CHARDONNAY AND PINOT NERO IN A VARIATION OF COLORS (HAY, GOLDEN, BLUSH, AMBER).
SUI GENERIS (SPUMANTE BIANCO OF CHARDONNAY)
[BLANC DE BLANCS DOSAGGIO ZERO, MINIMUM 36 MONTHS OF AFFINAMENTO]
LEVIS (SPUMANTE ROSATO WINE OF PINOT NERO)
[DOSAGGIO ZERO, MINIMUM 48 MONTHS OF AFFINAMENTO]
SUBSIDIUM (SPUMANTE BIANCO, 50% CHARDONNAY, 50% PINOT NERO)
[DOSAGGIO ZERO RISERVA, MINIMUM 60 MONTHS OF AFFINAMENTO]
EXCEPTIS (SPUMANTE BIANCO OF PINOT NERO)
[BLANC DE NOIRS DOSAGGIO ZERO, MINIMUM 24 MONTHS OF AFFINAMENTO]
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