Castellinaldo

Barbera d’Alba

First vintage: 2019

This is the most important expression of our Barberas.

Castellinaldo, recently claimed as a Barbera SOTTOZONE, is the only Barbera d’Alba to bear a village name.

We use our best barberas for this wine, these are vinified in steel, and the resulting wine is aged for 24 months in tonneaux, bottled and left to rest for at least 12 months before being sold.

BARBERA D’ALBA

Castellinaldo

Barbera

100%

Grapevine	100% Barbera
Production area	Vigna Rocca, Castellinaldo d’Alba – Roero
Land	marls and tuff
Exposure / Altitude	south / 310 m
Breeding / Pruning	counter-espalier / Guyot
Planting density	5,000 vines per hectare
Yield per hectare	40hl
Harvest	Manual in September/early October
Vinification	15 to 18 days of maceration with frequent dèlestages and punching down; temperature controlled, maximum regime 28°
Refinement	24 months in tonneaux and 12 months in bottle
Bottles per year	2.000
Pairings	Traditional local meat dishes, aged cheeses
Formats	0.75L – 1.5L – 3L – 5L – 12L

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Frequently Asked Questions

Curiosities and questions about Barbera Castellinaldo and related concepts

The wine comes from our oldest vineyards, planted by Giovanni (Flavio’s father) in 1945. It stays 24 months in tonneaux, making it an ideal bottle for aging. It is a wine named after the Barbera Castellinaldo subzone, which is why it is of limited production.

A cru, from the French verb croître (to grow), means “that which grows in an area,” and indicates a specific vineyard in a given geographic region from which a particularly high-quality wine is made.

The word cuvèe stands for a wine composed of the blending of several wines. By blending different wines, it is possible to balance the flavors and perfect the tastes expressed by the various crus.

The term guyot is named after its originator, Dr. Jules Guyot, who in the mid-19th century gave birth to this vine training system. Guyot at Cascina del Pozzo is the simple one so with only one head of fruit. On red wines we leave 6 to 8 buds depending on the vigor of the plant and a single spur of 2 buds for the following year. This leads to more quality and less quantity.

Batonnage is a technique used to stir a fermenting wine that will then move on to barrel aging. The action brings the lees, that is, the yeast residues necessary for alcoholic fermentation, to the surface. Batonnage is traditionally carried out with a bâton or “stick.”

Tonneaux, from the Latin word “tunna,” means “cask” or “vessel.” These are wooden barrels, originating in the Bordeaux area of France, spread throughout the world, used for aging wine.

Vineyard: Rocca

Pairings

Meat

Barbera Castellinaldo pairs well with traditional local dishes, especially meat. The following are some classics that are well compatible with this label:

Tonned Calf
Piedmont-style fritto misto
Anchovies in red bagnet

Beaten raw meat
Russian salad
Tajarin butter and sage

Barbera Castellinaldo is also ideal with well-aged cheeses.