La Spinetta Barbera d'Asti Ca'di Pian

One of Piedmont’s iconic modern wineries, the history of La Spinetta goes back to 1977 and Giuseppe Rivetti who established the original winery at Castagnole Lanze. Since then it is the second generation, spearheaded by Giorgio Rivetti, that has put La Spinetta on the map with the development of vineyards and estates, talented winemaking and an endless desire to try new things.

 La Spinetta started with the production of single vineyard Moscato D’Asti. In 1985 Giorgio made La Spinetta’s first red wine, the Barbera d’Asti Ca’ di Pian followed four years later by the non-traditional Pin, a blend of Barbera and Nebbiolo (with a little Cabernet Sauvignon at the time). 1995 saw the beginning of La Spinetta’s now famous Barbareschi (Gallina was the first, which also includes 10 hectares of Barbera) and 1998 the production of another Barbera: Bionzo. In 2000 La Spinetta bought land in Barolo and set up a brand new winery to produce their Campè Barolo. In 2001 they bought land in Tuscany in the Colli Pisani: Giorgio had long had a love of Sangiovese but planting it in Piedmont was out of the question. The leap of faith that this project required is impressive not least since Sangiovese is a very different proposition to Nebbiolo and the effort that is going into the development of this estate is extraordinary when you consider that this is just one of three separate wineries that La Spinetta runs.

From 25-30 year old vines grown on calcareous soils, 100% Barbera, aged for 12 months in French oak barrels, some new, some used. Ruby red with purple reflections,very dense, with scents reminiscent of Maraschino cherry, violets followed by plum fresh and fruity, the acidity is balanced by generous alcohol and mild tannins. Drinking beautifully now and will improve for another 5 years.