Giacomo Borgogno

Giacomo Borgogno & Figli was founded in 1761 in the town of Barolo itself - one of the oldest continuously operating estates in the denomination. The Borgogno family made wine here for over two centuries. In 2008 the estate was bought by the Farinetti family (founders of Eataly). Under Andrea Farinetti, the traditional approach has been maintained - long maceration, aging in large Slavonian botti, no barrique - while vineyard work and cellar hygiene have been modernised. The estate has been under organic conversion since 2016.

Around forty hectares of estate in total, with roughly sixteen in the Barolo municipality across some of the denomination's most storied sites: Cannubi and Cannubi San Lorenzo, Liste, Fossati, and San Pietro delle Viole. The distinctive practice is the cellar programme. The Barolo Riserva is released about seven years after vintage (six years in large Slavonian botti plus six months in bottle), but Borgogno holds back a large share of every Riserva vintage and releases it gradually over the following decades. A single vintage can appear on the market twenty or thirty years apart from itself. The cellar still holds bottles going back to the 1920s - the Cannubi Riserva 1921 is the emblem of the library.

The key wines:

• Barolo Riserva - the flagship, a blend of Liste, Cannubi, and Fossati. Released initially at ~7 years, then staged back-vintage re-releases over decades.
• Barolo Cannubi Riserva - single-cru from Barolo's most celebrated hill
• Barolo Liste - from the Liste cru
• Barolo Fossati - a newer single-cru addition
• Langhe Nebbiolo "No Name" - born in 2005 when the Barolo consortium refused DOCG approval for one cask deemed stylistically irregular. Borgogno released it anyway as Langhe Nebbiolo under a stripped, wordless label - a protest against Italian wine bureaucracy. The Farinettis kept it in the lineup after 2008; it is now sourced from three Barolo crus.
• Barbera d'Alba Superiore

Traditional Barolo in the deepest sense. Long maceration (sometimes thirty or more days), large Slavonian oak, patience measured in decades rather than months. The staged library-release programme is virtually unique in its commitment to extended cellar aging - most producers release their wines young and let the consumer age them. Borgogno does it for you.