La vite The vine
unisce
connects
il cielo the sky alla terra to the earth e nel suo and in
frutto
its fruit
vivono live
sangue
blood
luce e
light and
amore
love
A history with remote roots
For many years my father had produced grapes that he took to the Cantina Sociale Terre del Barolo, and a modest amount of fruit that he sold at the local markets. It was a small agricultural holding of about 4-5 hectares in Monforte d’Alba. In 1976 he asked me if I wanted to take over the running of the business. With my wife Giuliana’s support, I started out on this great adventure. In those days, producing grapes and selling them was not very profitable, so I decided to try my hand at winemaking. Since then, I have always tried to give the utmost importance to work between the rows in the belief that to create good wines you have to cultivate the vineyard with love and
dedication, forming a deep-rooted connection with the land and learning from it to understand the needs of the vines in every season of the year. As my adventure progressed, the decision to become a producer brought with it the need to increase the number of hectares in production. In 1981 I bought a plot of land in the “Ginestra” area, from which we make Barolo
Ciabot Mentin, in 1990 another smaller plot also in the “Ginestra” area which gives us Barolo Pajana, and in 1995 a vineyard situated in the area called “Mosconi”, from which Barolo Percristina is produced. With a lot of hard work, good will and some frustration, we built up a winery that presently includes around 21 hectares of vineyard producing a total of approximately 110,000 bottles a year. Production is divided as follows:
“ vine connects the sky to the earth
”
• LANGHE DOLCETTO “VISADI’” • BARBERA D’ALBA “TREVIGNE” • LANGHE NEBBIOLO “CAPISME-E” • LANGHE ROSSO “ARTE” (blend of two grapes: 90% Nebbiolo + 10% Barbera ) Three Barolo crus (already mentioned)
As if the experience acquired over the years was not satisfying enough, between 2005 and 2006 I began looking for a new goal that would provide the right kind of stimulus to set myself another challenge: this turned out to be the search for a new wine. And so it was that I looked for and found the right vineyard to work in another important Barolo production area, in some respects similar to Monforte, called Serralunga, where I was able to create a Barolo with the curious name of Aeroplan Servaj. Engrossed in my thoughts and my gaze fixed firmly on my vineyards, I’m still full of enthusiasm and desire to grow and improve, never losing sight of the fact that the Queen who must be “served” is the land, so that one day she will repay me with her precious fruits.
LANGHE DOLCETTO D.O.C.
VisadĂŹ
Kind of wine: red Grape variety: 100% dolcetto
Production: 25.000 bottles Producing surface and vineyard repartition: 4 ha parted in different lots Manuring and treatments: first vines planted in 1950, last in 2004 Harvest time: from September 15th onwards, manual harvest Length of maceration and fermentation: 5 to 7 days in the rotor fermentor Time and kind of ageing before bottling: 10 months in steel tanks
NOTES
Kind of wine: red
bArbera d’alba D.O.C.
Trevigne
Grape variety: 100% barbera
Production: 21.000 bottles Producing surface and vineyard repartition: east, south-west, 350mt above sea level Exposure and altitude: east, south-west, 350mt above sea level Type of soil: mosaic of tufaceous and clayey marls Average age of the vines: 25 year old Harvest time: end of September, manual harvest
Length of maceration and fermentation: 10 to 14 days in the rotor fermentor Time and kind of ageing before bottling: 12 to 16 months in barrique barrels (50% new - 50% used)
NOTES
Kind of wine: red
Langhe nebbiolo D.O.C.
Capisme-e
Grape variety: 100% nebbiolo
Production: 11.000bottles Producing surface and vineyard repartition: 2 ha in Manzoni area 60 hundred kilograms per hectare Average age of the vines: about 40 year old Harvest time: first ten days in October, manual harvest Length of maceration and fermentation: 7-10 days in the rotor fermentor Time and kind of ageing before bottling: 10 month in steel tanks
NOTES
Kind of wine: red
LANGHE ROSSO D.O.C.
Arte
Grape variety: 90% nebbiolo, 10% barbera Production: 4.500 bottles, 500 magnum Producing surface and vineyard repartition: Nebbiolo from single vineyards in Ginestra, Pajana, Mosconi and Manzoni areas Productivity of the vineyard: 55 hundred kilograms per hectares Average age of the vines: max 20 year old Nebbiolo, 40 year old Barbera Harvest time: from October 10th onwards, manual harvest Length of maceration and fermentation: 10-12 days for Barbera, 12-14 days for Nebbiolo in the rotor fermentor Time and kind of ageing before bottling: decantation only, helped by natural seasonal temperature
NOTEs
Kind of wine: red
Barolo D.O.C.G
Pajana
Grape variety: 100% nebbiolo
Production: 13.000 bottles Superficie del vigneto e sua produttivitĂ : 3 ha in Ginesta Cru area 50 hundred kilograms per hectare Average age of the vines: older vines planted from 1965 to 1970 Harvest time: from October onwards, manual harvest Length of maceration and fermentation: 20-30 days in the rotor fermentor Time and kind of ageing before bottling: 24 to 30 months in barrique barrels (80% new - 20% used)
NOTES
Kind of wine: red
BArolo D.O.C.G
Ciabot Mentin
Grape variety: 100% nebbiolo
Production: 22.000 bottles, 1.000 magnum Producing surface and vineyard repartition: 5,50 ha in Ginestra Cru area Average age of the vines: older vines planted from 1965 to 1970 Harvest time: from October onwards, manual harvest Length of maceration and fermentation: 20-30 days in the rotor fermentor Time and kind of ageing before bottling: 24 to 30 months in barrique barrels (80% new – 20% used)
NOTES NOTE
Kind of wine: red
BArolo D.O.C.G
Percristina
Grape variety: 100% nebbiolo
Production: 5.500 bottles Producing surface and vineyard repartition: 1,7 ha in Mosconi Cru area Average age of the vines: most of the vines planted in 1955 Harvest time: from October onwards, manual harvest Length of maceration and fermentation: 20-30 days in the rotor fermentor Time and kind of ageing before bottling: 36 months in barrique barrels (80%new – 20% used) and than 24 months in 25hl tanks
NOTES
The LeGeND oF
AeroPLAN serVAJ
(wiLD AeroPLANe)
The name of the wine had to be the mirror of a past that is reflected in the present, and i thought there was nothing more meaningful than the nickname my father gave me: the translation in Piedmont dialect of wild Aeroplane. The name perfectly embodied what my father saw in me: a child, a boy, and then a man who flies over the surrounding hills in his imagination and lands, sometimes, for a few moments to be part of the real world.
Naturally, this new Barolo, originating in the rented vineyard in serralunga, also had to be expressed by a completely different concept on the bottle. As a result, six different labels representing the wild Aeroplane were chosen and are presented all together in the same wooden case, giving a complete picture of the “fantasy� that goes into the wine as soon as the lid is lifted!
Kind of wine: red
BArolo D.O.C.G
AeroplanServaj
Grape variety: 100% nebbiolo
Production: 6.500bottles Producing surface and vineyard repartition: 1,4 ha, 55 hundred kilograms per hectare Average age of the vines: 25 year old Harvest time: from 15th October onwards, manual harvest Length of maceration and fermentation: 30 days in the rotor fermentor Time and kind of ageing before bottling: 26-36 months in barrique barrels (80%new – 20% used)
NOTES
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