Barbaresco Recta Pete

David Fletcher is an Australian winemaker who came to Barbaresco for a 2007 harvest at Ceretto and stayed - rising to assistant winemaker there alongside Alessandro Ceretto, while building his own label in parallel. Garagiste-scale, now seven wines across ~12 sites. Cantina and home are the restored, formerly abandoned Barbaresco train station ("La Stazione") - bought by the Fletchers in 2014, sitting at the foot of Asili and Martinenga. Owned vineyards organic and/or biodynamic; native-yeast ferments, gentle infusion-style extraction, élevage in old (10+ year) 300 L French oak.

Recta Pete is his multi-cru Barbaresco DOCG blend - not a single-vineyard bottling, despite the focused name. The 2021 composition: 40% Roncaglie (Treiso), 30% Faset (Treiso), 30% Ronchi (Barbaresco commune; new to the cuvée in 2021). 100% destemmed, native-yeast open fermentation, no post-ferment soak. 24 months in old 300 L French oak plus 3 months in bottle - well above the Barbaresco DOCG minimum (26 months total / 9 in wood). Unfined, unfiltered, minimal SO2.

The name comes from David's Scottish heritage: "Recta Pete" is the Latin motto of Clan Fletcher, commonly translated "seek what is right." The surname Fletcher (Mac-an-Leister) is occupational - arrow-maker - so the producer leans into the archery pun and renders the motto as "shoot straight."

2021 in the Langhe was a structured, classic-leaning vintage: long even season, cool nights pre-harvest, perfumed and built-for-the-cellar wines.