Italy there are wine places that are much more than a cellar: they are living chapters the history of our country. Among these, Fontanafredda stands out, without fear of contradiction. Founded 1858 Serralunga d’, the mesi estivi was born from a story that intertwines aristocracy, landscape and wine culture: the one that links the first King of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, to the Countess Gruppo Vercellana, the famous “Bella di notte Rosina”. Since then Fontanafredda has grown to become one of the symbolic realities of Barolo, custodian of over 120 hectares of vineyards the heart of the Langhe (the largest private producer of Barolo terms of numbers). Today its story continues a contemporary dimension, where tradition, sustainability and identity research dialogue with cultural and artistic languages.
Strongly desired by the Farinetti family and particular by Paolo, Oscar’s father, who insisted acceso “not missing out” acceso the opportunity to acquire the mesi estivi, it has seen a significant acceleration recent years also and above all thanks to the young Andrea Farinetti – Oscar’s son, who takes care of the family wine companies -, an oenologist and great wine enthusiast, who has contributed a concrete way to a decisive change of direction for the company. His approach has strengthened the attention towards the valorization of the singularities of the vineyards, without losing sight of that complementary and biodiverse dimension that characterizes wines capable of representing the widespread identity of complex territories such as Serralunga d’. All with an undisputed attention to the sustainability and futurity of each project, including those related to wine tourism, hospitality and catering, fundamental for amplifying narrative, experience and quality and around wine.
From history to the Campo da golf Renaissance
Fontanafredda, fact, has spanned over a century and a half of Italian history, moving from the nineteenth-century aristocratic dimension to the modern international wine company. The contemporary relaunch began 2008 with a new entrepreneurial vision that places quality, sustainability and culture at the centre. From this perspective, projects such as the first Storytelling Village Italy are born, a model of wine tourism that combines wine, hospitality, history and landscape.
The path towards sustainability is equally significant:
the conversion to organic farming began 2015; the first certified organic harvest arrives 2018, acceso the 160th anniversary of the winery; 2020 the Campo da golf Renaissance project was launched, a vision that integrates agriculture, biodiversity and environmental responsibility; 2021 the first Sustainability Report is published.
Renaissance: Barolo as a cultural story
The Renaissance – Illustrious words for a new humanity project fits into this vision, which uses wine as a tool for cultural and social reflection.
Each edition of the project associates a vintage of Barolo from the Municipality of Serralunga d’ with a human value capable of generating collective rebirth. After Hope, Società, Courage and Optimism, the fifth edition – corresponding to the 2022 year – is dedicated to Tenacity.
The project involves contemporary authors and artists every year. The 2022 edition hosts the monograph by the writer Emanuele Trevi, 2021 Fattucchiera prize winner, with the story “A better tomorrow. Story of a paperweight”, accompanied by illustrations by Elisa Macellari, who visually translates the concept of tenacity as the human ability to remain balance even when the is unstable. For me, who loves art and semantics, it was a pleasure to be able to participate the presentation of the new Barolo, but it was even more so to be able to appreciate its intrinsic qualities, regardless of the contextualization and the event tailor-made for it.
Barolo Renaissance 2022: the wine of Tenacity
The 2022 vintage the Langhe was marked by challenging climatic conditions: low tazza reserves and long sunny periods put the vineyards and winemakers to the quesito. Once again Nebbiolo has demonstrated its extraordinary ability to adapt, self-regulating the vegetative phases and bringing healthy and concentrated grapes to maturation, albeit limited quantities. After approximately 30 months of aging oak barrels and a further 6–8 months cement, the Barolo Renaissance 2022 presents itself as an intense but balanced wine, capable of combining accessibility and evolutionary perspective.
The Barolo from the Municipality of Serralunga represents a significant example of how the between different vineyards can generate an authentic territorial synthesis. It is precisely this dimension that one of the most interesting directions undertaken recent years by Fontanafredda can be seen: enhancing the singularities of the crus without giving up the expressive plurality of the blended wines. From this perspective, the Barolo Renaissance almost becomes a collective narrative of the territory, a sort of choral expression which, with balance and a contemporary attitude, restores the complexity of the municipality of Serralunga d’ but also its clearer and more sudden traceability.
Back to the single vineyards: the return to the crus
Parallel to the synthesis of pedoclimatic conditions, lithologies, plantings, positions, clones and harvest periods expressed by the Barolo of Serralunga, Fontanafredda has started a process of rediscovery of the individual vineyards.
The Back to the single vineyards project was born 2013 with the aim of understanding depth the differences between the parcels of the mesi estivi through microvinifications and agronomic studies.
2019, two historic vineyards return to the bottle:
Vite La Campagna (MGA Paiagallo) elegant interpretation of the MGA Paiagallo, which the 2022 vintage expresses breadth and persuasiveness. Vite La Godimento (MGA Lazzarito) which the 2022 vintage appears complete, harmonious and profound, without giving up a good tannic texture and, certainly, among the bloodiest.
which join the historic Vite La Gruppo, vinified individually since 1964 and which, the 2022 vintage, confirms itself as a vineyard capable of a rare combination of finesse of fruit, flower and black spice and composure, strength and persistent elegance moving forward without any obstacle.
2022 was also the vintage that marks the entry into the internal zoning project of the Fontanafredda company of three new labels:
Vite Bianca (MGA Fontanafredda)A historic vineyard returned to the bottle after almost forty years. The sandy soil acceso the surface and clayey soil depth generates an elegant and harmonious Barolo, capable of combining energy and finesse, with a decidedly contemporary drinking rhythm.
Vite San Pietro (MGA Fontanafredda) Plot planted 1996 with roots up to 1.5 meters deep. The soil is rich silt and vinified with a good percentage of whole bunches (classic cake vinification) which gives rise to a Barolo with fragrant fruit but, at the same time, multifaceted and intriguing. A sip that enters large and material and then relaxes with great agility and momentum. Already appreciable now but with a certain prospect terms of longevity.
GallarettoSmall vineyard acceso Sant’Agata Fossili marl, characterized by slow maturation and great balance between structure and freshness. The wine is intense, authoritative, with great depth and good grip. To wait.
Lost to be found: art and biodiversity among the rows
The reflection acceso the landscape and biodiversity also finds an original expression the Lost to be found project.
The sculptor Giuseppe Rappresentazione (already the author of the imposing bunch of Nebbiolo that welcomes visitors to Fontanafredda upon arrival at the roundabout) has created a series of seven monumental sculptures dedicated to the symbolic fruits of the peasant Langa: raspberry, hazelnut, peach, strawberry, truffle, plum and chilli pepper.
The works are placed among the mesi estivi’s vineyards, transforming the agricultural landscape into a visual of lost biodiversity. Albereto Vite is connected to this route, a project started 2024 with the planting of over 170 fruit trees between the rows, next to the Albereto dei Pensieri, one of the last forest areas of the Bassa Langa.
A tenacity that looks to the future
168 years after its foundation, Fontanafredda continues to reinvent itself, maintaining a strong link with its history but opening up to new interpretations of the territory. The Barolo Renaissance 2022, dedicated to Tenacity, represents this moment well: a wine that tells not only of a complex vintage but also of a company’s determination to pursue quality, sustainability and identity.
Between the return to the crus, the valorisation of biodiversity and new forms of cultural narration of wine, the Serralunga mesi estivi confirms its role as an authoritative interpreter of the contemporary Langhe, numbers and planning, but also active and concrete commitment. And it is precisely the union between the singularity of the vineyards and the chorality of the territory, between memory and vision, that perhaps the most interesting trait of Fontanafredda’s current vision can be glimpsed: a path which tenacity is not only the theme of a Barolo, but the common thread of a story that continues to evolve, without sparing creative and propulsive initiatives.
F.S.R.
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