Fratelli Alessandria

An historic Verduno estate that dates back as far as the 8th century. A true family affair Vittore Alessandria, his mother Flavia, father Gian Battista & uncle Ale have been working hard in recent years to give more precision to their charming wines: more leaves, fewer treatments in the vineyards, along with the investment into a battery of Swiss coopered Slavonian oak botti have all helped to give increased focus to the wines. Made in a traditional and non-interventionist way, the wines are fermented gently and slowly before elevage in large oak cask for three years. These are some of the aromatic, elegant and charming Barolos you’ll find.

2015 Vintage

A snowy winter and some rain in mid-August that brought with its cooler end of season temperatures were vital to helping vines survive what was a hot first two months of the summer. In the end, the cool late season nights slowed development down a little, allowing Nebbiolo a gradual ripening of skins and development of aromas. Vittore Alessandria explained that as a result of this harvest was only a little earlier than usual despite the June and July heat. Picking took place in early October, a week ahead of the average. Traditional, unforced and graceful, these are all hallmarks of the estate’s wines – qualities that are as evident in warmer vintages such as 2015 as any others. A fine range. Bottling started a little earlier than usual for the 2015 vintage, which began with San Lorenzo in November 2018, the aim being to preserve the elegance and freshness of the wines.

2016 Vintage

Vittore Alessandria was in a philosophical mood when we saw him, playing his cards close to his chest, preferring that his wines do the talking. Not only do they talk the talk, these thrilling, site-specific wines walk the walk, and are finally establishing themselves as some of the best traditionally styled Barolos in Piedmont. Fine tuning over the past few years, including increased space and capacity in the winery (with the addition of four new 25hl vats to replace their oldest botti grandi) has allowed for an even more efficient and precise picking and vatting process. This coupled with spectacular vineyard holdings has prodiced some of the wines of the vintage. Complimenti!

2017 Vintage

The 2017 vintage at Alessandria hails the arrival of a new baby, a Barolo produced exclusively from Verduno vineyards, the first of its type! A fantastic advertisement for the town, showing off the perfume and beauty the wines of this commune have become renowned for. Despite the year’s warmth and drought, this great example offers high-toned aromas and plenty of energy and elegance. Shading the bunches, picking early (15 days earlier than 2016) and gentler extractions using pumping over rather than the submerged cap method, were all crucial to success in Vittore Alessandria’s opinion.

2018 Vintage

Fratelli Alessandria is a traditional, small family estate that has pretty much up-and-come. It’s now well-known that their Monvigliero is one of the Langhe’s finest wines, but this 2018 collection is as Burgundian and effortless as one is likely to encounter this year. Opting only for pumpovers (no submerged cap) in 2018 and by slightly reducing the time on skins to 30 days, the wines have retained glorious perfumes and keep a neat, tense and highly refined feel. The maturation process was the same as always; three years in large traditional oak botti. A new destalker means they can work more whole berries, again improving the sense of fruit purity and elegance in the final wines. Vittore Alessandria clearly has an eye for detail, and his high-toned 2018s will delight all those lucky enough to buy them.

2019 Vintage

The small, sleepy village of Verduno accounts for just 5% of the total Barolo production. However, it has received in an inordinate amount of press attention over the past few years thanks largely to the small band of native Verduno growers who turn out some of the Langhe’s most exciting, site-specific wines. Monvigliero, or “The Watchtower of Barolo”, is one of only a handful of undisputed “Grand Crus” in the Langhe. Established in 1830, Fratelli Alessandria has long been one of its most thoughtful and accomplished exponents, a fact that the market appears to have cottoned on to with considerable enthusiasm. Aside from a steady rise in popularity though, it’s business as usual here, as Vittore and team cultivate their 15ha of vineyard in Verduno and Monforte d’Alba as diligently as ever. Fermentations are carried out in stainless steel using whole berries and maceration time averages 25–30 days. Extractions are carried out exclusively using pump-overs in an effort to maintain the integrity of the cap and limit lees movement, guarding in turn the fresh fruit character of the grapes. Ageing takes place in 25hl cask for three years. The casks are racked only once per year and the wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered. On the 2019 vintage, Vittore described it as “a classic late vintage, different to the 2018 which was all about high-toned aromatics. 2019 is a little deeper and richer and more complex. I think a good word for the vintage is ‘longevity’.”

2020 Vintage

Bewitching Barolo at its finest, the Fratelli Alessandria 2020s were bottled in December 2023 after three years in large old oval casks, the Nebbiolo harvest taking place in early October, only a week earlier than in 2019. Vittore Alessandria explained how in warm vintages such as 2020 they avoid drastic crop reduction in the vineyard – a philosophy which runs counter to those who see a green harvest as essential in alleviating stress on the vine. They prefer to encourage leaf cover to shade the grapes, and for a while now have stopped using fertilisers, gradually reducing vine vigour. “We don’t want to feel forced in to picking early. We need the diurnal shifts that come later to enhance perfume and complexity in our wines.” Vinifications are carried out plot by plot and blended gradually over the course of the ageing process. In 2020, maceration time averaged 30 days, the ferments carried out in stainless steel as usual, with only light pumpovers for the extraction of colour, no submerged cap, no pigeage. As always, this is a tender, pale and delicate range – perhaps even more so in 2020 than in previous years. Citrus-driven red fruits and flowers lead the way in the wines from Verduno, star anise, berries and mint in Monforte.

2021 Vintage

Fratelli Alessandria’s 2021s rank amongst the best wines we tasted. They have left a huge imprint. The affable Vittore Alessandria is at ease with this, proud of his wines, but funny and modest, too. He described 2021 as “a vintage that did not have any extreme challenges aside from a little bit of frost at the beginning of April. Winter snow was hugely beneficial, but summer was even with very few days at high peaks of temperature. Harvest began in Monvigliero on 6th October, which means a long growing cycle that qualifies 2021 as a ‘classic’ vintage.” As always, these are supremely finessed, complex Barolos that offer a stunning mix of power, energy and perfume. Vinifications are carried out plot by plot and blended gradually over the course of the ageing process. Maceration time averages 30 days, the ferments carried out in stainless steel, with only light pumpovers for the extraction of colour, no submerged cap, no pigeage. The 2021s radiate energy and vibrancy in a quite remarkable way. They are a thrill to taste.