Bruno Giacosa

The Falletto vineyard in Serralunga d'Alba is considered the centrepiece of Bruno Giacosa's work. The south and south-west facing slopes with calcareous marl soils produce Nebbiolo with unmistakable depth and structure. The 2020 vintage was characterised by a warm, sunny summer, balanced by cool nights and a long, stable autumn – ideal conditions for fully ripe, aromatically complex grapes with precise acidity.

Rabajà is one of the great vineyards of Barbaresco – a gently sloping south-west-facing slope between the Asili and Martinenga crus, whose calcareous and clayey soils produce wines with unmistakable depth. The 2021 vintage is considered outstanding in Piedmont: a balanced vegetation cycle with warm days, cool nights and ideal harvest conditions produced Nebbiolo grapes of rare aromatic purity and perfect phenolic ripeness. Intense garnet red in the glass with sparkling ruby-coloured reflections. The nose opens with a precise, almost crystalline fruit of sour cherry, ripe raspberry and sloe, surrounded by violets, dried rose petals, fine cedar wood and a minerality reminiscent of graphite. On the palate, the wine is both powerful and silky, with fine, ripe tannins and a present, perfectly integrated acidity that lends freshness and tension. The finish is long, elegant and carried by a saline note that impressively reflects the character of the vineyard. A Barbaresco with great development potential and the typical noblesse of Rabajà. SUPERIORE.DE

The genius of Neive, as they called Bruno Giacosa – this quiet, uncompromising man who had never seen the inside of an oenology school and yet made some of the greatest Nebbiolo wines of the 20th century. Since his death in 2018, daughter Bruna Giacosa has continued to run the winery in Neive together with cellar master Dante Scaglione. The same precision. The same philosophy: large wood, long maceration, absolute respect for the terroir. No compromise that does not begin in the vineyard. Rabajà is the other face of Barbaresco. Where Asili – the second large Giacosa parcel – stands for elegance and floral fragrance, Rabajà is the harder, more mineral, more structured brother. South-south-west exposure, chalky clay, warmer than its neighbours to the north – a vineyard that Giacosa only acquired in 2013 when Lorenzo Alutto offered a small, historic parcel on the open market. 0.6 hectares. Around 4,000 bottles. Grapes that had previously flowed into the crus (riserve) of the Produttori del Barbaresco for decades.

In 1982, Bruno Giacosa bought the Falletto vineyard in Serralunga d'Alba. It was the first and most important investment of his life – and it came as no surprise to those who knew him. Since the 1960s, he had been vinifying bought-in grapes from this south-eastern corner of the Barolo area and making wines that are still among the reference points of the appellation today. When the farmers began to bottle their own wines, there was only one answer for Giacosa: to buy what he could no longer rent.

The single vineyard Falletto in Serralunga d'Alba is one of the centrepieces of the Barolo region. On steep, south-facing slopes, whose marl and sandstone soils store heat and contribute minerality, Nebbiolo matures here into wines of great structure and depth. The 2021 vintage is considered one of the best of the last decade: a stable summer with cool nights and sunny days allowed for long, even ripening and produced grapes of rare balance.

Within Falletto there is a parcel of land that Bruno Giacosa thought of separately early on. Vigna Le Rocche – officially recognised as an independent site within the MGA Falletto, on the upper part of the amphitheatre, exposed south to south-west, with the oldest vines of the entire estate. 47-year-old vines, deeply rooted in the calcareous clay of Serralunga, at more than 400 metres. Less yield, more concentrated grapes, an aroma that is similar to that of the Falletto – and yet surpasses it.

In 2020, the single vineyard Asili was chosen for the Barbaresco Riserva in its characteristic red colour, which will come as no surprise to Giacosa connoisseurs. Just 10,000 bottles of what is probably the best Giacosa vineyard are only released as Riserva in outstanding years. Asili 2020 shows a seamless integration of wild fruits, blue flowers, spices, balsamic herbs and liquorice. Its true class is revealed on the palate: structure, dimension, intensity and depth leave nothing to be desired; this vintage is probably one of the best wines we have ever tasted from Bruno Giacosa. There is only one flaw with this highly dramatic growth: anyone who wants to enjoy this wine with all its facets and components should be patient for at least another 10 years. SUPERIORE.DE

Giacosa's Barolo Vigna Le Rocche is only vinified in the best vintages as a Riserva (red label) and has a magical attraction for Nebbiolo lovers all over the world.

The red label rarely appears. Very rarely. In the entire history of the Giacosa estate, it has been awarded to Le Rocche in less than a dozen vintages – 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, each time signalling that the family has jointly decided that this vintage is more than just good. That it can be timeless. 2020 is the latest chapter in this great story. What distinguishes the red label from the white label? Not the grape, not the vineyard, not the location. Le Rocche is Le Rocche – the same parcel on the upper Falletto amphitheatre in Serralunga d'Alba, south-west facing, chalky clay, vines almost 50 years old. What changes is the time. For the white label: 32 months in large French oak barrels, ten months in bottle. For the red label: identical vinification, but then the decisive difference – more than two years of bottle ageing. The result will not be released on the market until January 2026. A wine that has not yet reached its true class even six years after the harvest.

In 2020, the single vineyard Asili was chosen for the Barbaresco Riserva in its characteristic red colour, which will come as no surprise to Giacosa connoisseurs. Just 10,000 bottles of what is probably the best Giacosa vineyard are only released as Riserva in outstanding years. Asili 2020 shows a seamless integration of wild fruits, blue flowers, spices, balsamic herbs and liquorice. Its true class is revealed on the palate: structure, dimension, intensity and depth leave nothing to be desired; this vintage is probably one of the best wines we have ever tasted from Bruno Giacosa. There is only one flaw with this highly dramatic growth: anyone who wants to enjoy this wine with all its facets and components should be patient for at least another 10 years. SUPERIORE.DE

The red label rarely appears. Very rarely. In the entire history of the Giacosa estate, it has been awarded to Le Rocche in less than a dozen vintages – 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, each time signalling that the family has jointly decided that this vintage is more than just good. That it can be timeless. 2020 is the latest chapter in this great story. What distinguishes the red label from the white label? Not the grape, not the vineyard, not the location. Le Rocche is Le Rocche – the same parcel on the upper Falletto amphitheatre in Serralunga d'Alba, south-west facing, chalky clay, vines almost 50 years old. What changes is the time. For the white label: 32 months in large French oak barrels, ten months in bottle. For the red label: identical vinification, but then the decisive difference – more than two years of bottle ageing. The result will not be released on the market until January 2026. A wine that has not yet reached its true class even six years after the harvest.

Giacosa's Barolo Vigna Le Rocche is only vinified in the best vintages as a Riserva (red label) and has a magical attraction for Nebbiolo lovers all over the world.