Two brothers, Alessandro and Gian Natale Fantino, run this family estate in Monforte d’Alba. The brothers own eight hectares in the heart of the historic Bussia cru north of Monforte, one of Barolo’s most famous areas for producing wines of great longevity and finesse. The Fantino holdings are concentrated exclusively in the “Dardi” section, a hillside with perfect southern and southeastern exposure in the geographic center of Bussia.
This historic estate holds a virtual monopoly on the appellation of Palette. Château Simone encompasses twenty hectares of vineyards that sit on limestone soils on the slopes of Montaiguet. All of the grapes are hand harvested, destemmed, lightly pressed and fermented for 15 to 20 days in small wooden vats with only wild yeast, then put into small foudre to rest on the lees. The red from Simone is an elegant wine of great depth. It is primarily composed of Grenache and Mourvedre but its special character reflects the presence of a melange other grape varieties, including Cinsault, Syrah, Carignan, Castet, Manosquin, Theoulier, Tibouren, Picpoul Noir and Muscat de Hambourg. The wine is a classic that deserves to be aged in order to best appreciate its many nuances.
Tenute Dettori is an artisanal winery intrinsically tied to its territory, Badde Nigosolu, an amphitheater of 80 acres of land at 750ft of elevation facing North-West to the Golfo dell'Asinara in Sardinia. The soil is a calcareous mix with limestone and sand. Here, wine has been made for centuries and many of Dettori vines are over a hundred years old.
Walter Massa farms local varieties of grapes in his vineyards in Monleale, in the Tortona Hills corner of Piemonte. Pertichetta is a wine made of Croatina, called also Bonarda, a wine that requires time to soften the firm tannins of the grape. This croatina is fermented with indigenous yeast and aged in botte grande for about two years. This wine has intense cranberry notes and a long finish, that remind you of black tea tannins. Perfect with charcuterie, rich meats or aged cheeses
This estate can be thought of as the ‘godfather’ of organic farming in Tuscany. The estate is currently run and cared for by Giovanna Tiezzi and her husband Stefano. There is no technology involved in the winemaking, and in fact the cellar has not been touched for generations. The changes have come in the vineyards, where Stefano has replanted using clones and cuttings from their own vineyards grafted onto the rootstock at the nursery, keeping the vines resistant to sickness and more prolific.
