2008  Santo Stefano

The vinous story of Bruno Giacosa stretches through three generations, over which the family worked tirelessly to acquire land and fruit worthy of producing wine that in one sip honors both the Nebbiolo grape and the family name. A traditionalist in his approach to, and respect for, the winemaking process, Bruno Giacosa is also a perfectionist who recognizes the legitimacy of certain advancements in the world of winemaking. He finds that reasonable application of modern techniques in the winery increases his ability to present the consumer with the most honest representation of the Nebbiolo grape from across a unique and varied terroir. In the beginning, owning no land themselves, the Giacosa family searched for the best vineyards and growers to consistently source high quality fruit, entering into cooperative lease agreements that would safeguard their winemaking legacy in the coming generations. The most famous of these is the Santo Stefano di Neive vineyard. Barbaresco was produced continuously from Santo Stefano for many years; the final vintage made was in 2011 after which control of the fruit sourced reverted back to Castello di Neive. The wine is scarce - only 7,300 bottles were produced in 2008.

2008  Broglio

100% Nebbiolo. Serralunga d'Alba, a source of tannic, full-bodied Baroli characterised by deeper color, more structure, intensity & boldness. These are wines that require aging.

2010  Broglio, wood box

The local dialect for sharecropper is schiavenza which should give one a clue as to the style here; this is no modern barrique aged Barolo estate. The Barolos here are aged in the traditional large Slovenian barrels called botti, they use only naturally occurring yeasts and ferment the wines in cement cisterns. Their holdings include approximately 8 hectares split between Serralunga and Monforte D’Alba and include the heralded crus Prapo, Bricco Cerreta, and Broglio. In the vineyard, Schiavenza does not use pesticides or herbicides; harvest is manual and is conducted according to the phases of the moon. The only piece missing from all of this information is just how good the wines are. The quality here is shockingly good. Schiavenza’s wines are elegant, pure expressions of Nebbiolo that would embarrass many a more famous addresses. Wine Spectator: 94pts.