Luigi Giordano
About
Among all the vineyards of Barbaresco, few command as much respect as Asili, championed by many legendary producers including Produttori del Barbaresco, Ceretto, and Bruno Giacosa, who was the first to bottle Asili under a single-vineyard label in 1967. The cru of Asili features sand veins snaking their way through otherwise chalky clay soils, giving rise to wines with profound tension and elegance as well as bright aromatics and understated power. The Giordano family's parcel is at the southwestern corner of the vineyard, where it bends toward the cru of Faset. Once considered less desirable than due-south-facing plots, this cooler aspect now offers fruit of great balance and complexity in the current era of rising temperatures.
While business grew and Luigi established himself as a grower-producer during the second half of the twentieth century, the winery continued to invest in the land. The vineyards of the estate now stretch across seven hectares in Barbaresco on the slopes of prestigious crus like Montestefano, Asili, Ovello, Ronchi, Cars, and Cavanna. Giordano grows exclusively indigenous varieties, including Nebbiolo, Barbera, and Arneis on these legendary hills. Today, Luigi remains an inspiring presence as his daughter Laura and grandson Matteo, a graduate of the enology school in Alba, have gradually assumed daily activities in the vineyard and the cellar.
The family also produces wine from the similarly grand Montestefano cru. This vineyard was the first in all of Barbaresco to be bottled as a single cru by Beppe Colla in the historic Prunotto estate in 1961. Both Luigi Giordano and Produttori del Barbaresco followed suit in 1971. Montestefano is prized for its heavy, blue-toned clay soils famous for producing structured, powerful, deeply colored wines, which have been described as “the most Barolo among Barbarescos” by A Wine Atlas of the Langhe. This indispensable tome covering the wines of the Langhe alludes to Montestefano’s unmistakable notes of leather, tobacco, and truffle, all of which are reflected in Giordano’s exceptional version. Compared to the winery’s other Barbaresco bottlings, Montestefano typically undergoes a few extra days of maceration
in cement tanks and two additional months in botti, after which the wine is returned to cement before bottling.
In 1971, Luigi was faced with a difficult decision: his Montestefano vineyard needed to be replanted. With a heavy heart, he undertook the task but couldn't bring himself to pull out the two rows, planted in 1958, at the very top of the slope. Today, these surviving rows of over 60-year-old Lampia clone vines, with direct southern exposure at 280 meters asl, go into their Riserva, bottled exclusively in magnum bottles, of which just 500 are produced in suitable vintages.
The calling card of the winery is the family’s single-vineyard Barbaresco bottling from Cavanna. This vineyard is tucked just below the historic castle of Barbaresco, affording a sweeping view of the Tanaro River valley and the Roero just to the northwest. Prominent neighbors inside the cru include Angelo Gaja, Moccagatta, and De Forville, though Giordano owns the heart of the vineyard and, consequently, is the only producer to bottle Cavanna as a single vineyard. This amphitheater’s combination of sand and clay yields the sort of red-cherry fruit and fine tannin that make for a wildly popular glass-pour option given its serious value.
Products
Barbera d`Alba 'Buschet'
Certified Sustainable, Organic. 100% Barbera. The Barbera will spend 10-15 days on its skins with regular pumpover to ensure fresh aromatics and good color extraction. Malolactic fermentation continues in stainless-steel tanks. Following malolactic fermentation, the wine ages six months in cement tanks before bottling. Bottling takes place at the end of spring following harvest.
Nebbiolo Metodo Classico Brut Nature Rose
Certified Sustainable, Organic. The roots of the vines require more time to reach and absorb the nutrients in the unique blue marls in the soil thanks to their depth. These characteristics lead to slower phenolic maturation, which will only occur in the second half of October. Freshly-picked grapes in crates are stored in a refrigerated room close to freezing and at 80% humidity for about 10 days. This provokes a gentle maceration within the grapes in which color and aromas are partially transferred from the skins to the pulp, thus better preserving them for when the grapes will be pressed. Gentle pressing follows without any contact with the skins to avoid the extraction of tannins that could negatively impact the secondary fermentation in bottle. After primary fermentation, the wine remains in stainless-steel tanks until botting.
Barbaresco Cavanna
Certified Sustainable, Organic. 100% Nebbiolo Lampia. Cavanna is the subzone closest to the center of the village of Barbaresco. The exposure is west to southwest and the soils are composed of laminated Sant’Agata Fossili marls mixed with silt. The vineyard, divided into three parcels, ends at the sheer dropoff of the cliffs along the Tanaro River, whose currents contribute to a unique microclimate. Maceration takes place for 35-40 days, controlled-temperature fermentation in cement tanks with regular pumpover. When fermentation is ¾ complete, for most vintages, submerged cap will be implemented for an additional 20 days for additional extraction of phenolic components. The wines ages at least 30 months, a few more than the regular Montestefano bottling, in large, 25HL, Slavonian-oak barrels that average 10 years old.
Barbaresco Montestefano
Certified Sustainable, Organic. 100% Nebbiolo Lampia. One of the best zones for Nebbiolo da Barbaresco, Montestefano has the perfect soils and conditions to give rise to characteristically structured wines. The Sant’Agata marls here are a bluish-gray, dense and deep, with active limestone. Maceration takes place for 25-30 days, with controlled-temperature fermentation in cement tanks with regular pumpover. When fermentation is ¾ complete, for most vintages, submerged cap will be implemented for an additional 20 days for additional extraction of phenolic components. The wine ages at least 18-14 months in large, 25-50HL, Slavonian-oak barrels that average 25 years old.
Langhe Nebbiolo
Certified Sustainable, Organic. 100% Nebbiolo. Soil is composed of laminated Sant’Agata Fossili marls mixed with silt. Maceration takes place for 15-20 days with regular pumpover to ensure fresh aromatics and good color. Malolactic fermentation takes place spontaneously in stainless steel tanks. After completing malolactic fermentation, the wine ages 1 year in cement and concrete tank. The wine is bottled in spring following a year in the cellar.
Vino Rosso
Certified Sustainable, Organic. 80% Nebbiolo and 20% Arneis. The Arneis grapes are destemmed and pressed gently to ensure preservation of aromatics before beginning fermentation at a controlled temperature. The Nebbiolo grapes are harvested two weeks later, at which point they are also destemmed and pressed gently. The cap of the Arneis tank—complete with skins, seeds, and actively fermenting must—is then added to the Nebbiolo. Fermented under temperature control and daily pumpover, the wine spends 8-10 days on the skins and then completes malolactic fermentation in stainless-steel tanks. After completing fermentation, the wine ages for 2 months in large Slavonian botte followed by at least 3 months in bottle prior to release.
Barbaresco Montestefano Riserva
Certified Sustainable, Organic. 100% Nebbiolo Lampia. Here the vines are 60 years old, with a lower yield but an higher concentration of polyphenols and the right balance of the other components. Maceration 35-40 days, controlled-temperature fermentation in cement tanks with regular pumpover. When fermentation is ¾ complete, for most vintages, submerged cap will be implemented for an additional 20 days for additional extraction of phenolic components. The wines ages at least 30 months, a few more than the regular Montestefano bottling, in large, 25HL, Slavonian-oak barrels that average 10 years old.
Dolcetto d'Alba
Certified Sustainable, Organic. 100% Dolcetto. The Dolcetto will spend 7-8 days on its skins without temperature control, after which it is racked off to complete malolactic fermentation in stainless-steel tanks. The wine ages at least four months in cement tanks before bottling. Bottling takes place in February or March following harvest.
