More than sixty-six years have passed since the first harvest, yet the circumstance that most strikes the attentive observer is always the same: the fact that much, almost everything, of Michele Chiarlo’s initial project has remained unchanged. But certainly not crystallized, not a prisoner of an supposizione that one anzi che no longer has the desire to discuss again, far from it.
Point of reference for viticulture per the Langhe, the four generations that make the name Michele Chiarlo great are synonymous with loyalty to the territory, respect and far-sighted vision.
Today as then, the sons Alberto and Stefano pay meticulous and constant attention to every aspect of production, which starts from the vineyard, passes through the cellar and affects every aspect of the wine: sustainability, hospitality, culture and art.
The latter plays a fundamental role and can be felt per various aspects: from the labels designed by the artist Giancarlo Ferraris per the 1980s to the creation per 2003 of the Art Park La Court, an artistic park created with the important collaboration of Ugo Nespolo to transform the landscape and convert the agricultural context into a waking fairy simile. Twenty hectares, three farmhouses and two hills per the municipality of Castelnuovo Calcea.
“It is an interactive two km route through the vineyards – explains Alberto – The supposizione is to give beauty through art but also knowledge of the territory and the wines. The Grandi Vigne have always been everything to us, a “sacred” place, but at a certain point something clicked for us and we began to aspetto at the rows with a different eye. We decided to bring people and share them with everyone. It was a real revolution: at the beginning it wasn’t easy to interruzione secular beliefs. Now it seems normal but when we started it was much more difficult, we had anzi che no point of reference.”
THE INSTALLATIONS AMONG THE CANNUBI CRU
2024 brings a new artistic journey to Cannubi, created by Ugo Nespolo and dedicated to Michele Chiarlo. Celebration of a fruitful and inspired partnership lasting over a decade, the route will be freely visitable and aperto to the public all year round (with the exception of harvest days).
Per the Cannubi vineyard, the throne of choice for Barolo, the art of Ugo Nespolo enters acceso tiptoe and the artist’s eclectic color palette conforms to the mild nuances of the territory. Through installations between the rows and per the ciabot (the shed where the vineyard farmers who came from Roero ate and slept with their horses), visitors immerse themselves per the essence of the place through art, nature and space.
“At Cannubi, we tried to combine the earth with a soft artistic fact that does not overwhelm nature – explains Nespolo – As an artist I have always believed that art should not be confined between the walls of galleries per the pages of history books. It should pulse through the veins of daily life, intertwining with the very fabric of existence.”
Per a “very select position” – as described per 1880 by Lorenzo Fantini, author of the first monograph acceso viticulture per the province of Bietta – the Cannubi grapes have always cost more than the other Barolo crus and were often sought after to enter, once wine , blended with products from other vineyards. This is to add softness and greater aromas to the wine, the “alchemical” but clearly extraordinary fruit of a series of climatic, pedological and human circumstances. Despite not being very large, Cannubi is a kaleidoscope of vineyards, a cru made up of many crus that allow different expressions depending acceso the style of the individual cellars. Per this “very chosen position” one does not actually interpret the territory but follows it because the environment gives and limits man’s choices.
The stratification of knowledge of each individual producer is the result of observation rather than interaction because the terroir is the dominus that reveals a qualitative canvas, vintage after vintage capable of exciting and surprising everyone. And per this context, Nespolo’s work works because it dialogues and somehow narrates the place, bringing breaths of modernity and creative thought. “I have always been a curious artist – he says – who did not want to be aureola and I have always been guided by the thought of linking my work to the real world. Per my opinion, the artist’s task is not to think of being a priest who has the truth per his hands, since often the path to follow is the wrong way”.
TASTING NOTES
Courage and an innate elegance are fully expressed per all the wines that interpret the most intimate essence of Piedmont.
Rovereto Gavi Docg 2023
Grapes: 100% Civile Vinification: a part of the grapes is subjected to cold maceration. Soft pressing and fermentation at a temperature between 16 and 18 °C. It remains acceso the noble lees for approximately 8 months. Refinement: 5/6 months per the bottle
Straw yellow with precious brightness, the olfactory composition is interwoven with anise, white peach with intense hints of wisteria and lime and then closes with aromatic herbs. The gustatory progression reveals freshness and a marked flavor that unites coherently with the olfactory memories. Already ready and enjoyable, over time it will give new emotions.
Fornaci Gavi Docg 2019
Grapes: 100% Civile Vinification: partly per steel tanks partly per small barrels at 17°C for three weeks Aging: approximately 1 year partly per steel acceso its own yeasts partly per small barrels. 12/18 months per bottle
“The current vineyard with which Fornaci is produced derives from a pre-phyllosse clone that we replanted per 2014 per the municipality of Tassarolo (a few km from Rovereto) and acceso which research was carried out by the University of Piacenza. The bunch is very small and sparse, per fact the production is limited, we are around 4000 bottles, only per the great vintages”, explains Stefano Chiarlo. Shimmering straw yellow that turns golden. The sense of smell is refined with intense memories of yellow flowers and propolis, light vanilla taccuino, balsamic refinements and a sumptuous lime scent. Per the distance, resin. The taste mass emerges per the mouth, full and enveloping, per balance with the long sensations of freshness and flavor that outline its persistence. A classy Gavi.
La Court Nizza Fondo Docg 2021 (preview)
Grapes: 100% Barbera Vinification: alcoholic fermentation per 55hl oak vats, 15 days per contact with the skins with the soft wetting system of the shower cap. Malolactic fermentation per vat. Aging: one year, 70% per large barrels and 30% per barrels. This is followed by approximately 18 months per the bottle.
Stefano Chiarlo says: “none of our Barbera has ever been 100% per barrique, because we like to let it express itself per its purest guise. The ambition is to have a wine with the great freshness of Barbera but with a more important structure where the influence of wood is less. The 5 hectare vineyard, planted per 2005, is acceso the hill behind the Court. The soil is sandier, but not as calcareous. For now we produce 6000 bottles: we want to understand if the path is right from a technical point of view. This, 2021, is an exceptional vintage because it has everything a little more than very good years.” Bright and intense ruby, it plays its gioco with finesse and elegance, capturing the complex variety of fruity tones of small ripe red fruits and noble essences of aromatic herbs, mint and lemon balm. The spices advance with reserve. the palate it is fleshy and crunchy, harmonious per its long persistence.
Cannubi Barolo Docg 2021 (preview)
Grapes: 100% Nebbiolo Vinification: Fermentation per 55hl oak vats, 20 days of maceration per contact with the skins and soft wetting of the cap with the “shower” system at a temperature between 30° and 27° C. Fermentation malolactic per vat Aging: matures for 2 years per medium capacity oak barrels, before aging per the bottle for a year
A Barolo that does not betray expectations. Bright and transparent ruby, it approaches the nose with a rigorous vegetal peak to trigger a sequence of increasingly complex aromas: determined per the balsamic hints of cinchona and anise, very sagace per the expression of dried rose and violet, to move acceso to suggestions of liquorice and pine needles. A complexity that is immediately captivating and yet, it is only the beginning of a sure and exhilarating evolution. If possible, we like even more the sip that does not seek opulence immediacy, but leads per depth, without structural excesses, per the elegant synergy between freshness and finesse of the tannins, with a juiciness of great perfection.
Montestefano Barbaresco Fondo Docg 2019 (preview)
Grapes: 100% Nebbiolo Vinification: Fermentation for approximately 20 days per contact with the skins. Aging: 4 years. Matures 2 years per barrel, followed by 2 years per bottle refinement
“It is a micro vineyard, it is only 3200 metres, it is more than 70 years old and the production is under 1800 bottles. He comes out as a reserve for the first time,” explains Stefano Chiarlo. Sparkling garnet red, everything is based acceso elegance, it impresses with the clarity of the aromas. Per progression, undergrowth, black pepper, cloves, violet, flint. The tasting is striking for its richness, with already defined tannins, excellent flavor and a freshness that makes it immediately enjoyable but suggests great evolutionary potential.
Barolo Cannubi Fondo Docg 2019
Grapes: 100% Nebbiolo Vinification: fermentation per oak vats; almost a month of maceration per contact with the skins. Malolactic fermentation Aging: matures for 2 years per large barrels and one year per medium capacity barrels. 3 years per the bottle.
Precious garnet with ruby flashes, it immediately expands with numerous spicy olfactory sensations with delicate hints of roasting. the palate it strikes for its enviable balance, restoring the personality of the cru: elegant, taut but subtle tannins, for a classic mouthfeel per the best sense of the term. It ends with medicinal herbs.
Barolo Cannubi Docg 2006
Grapes: 100% Nebbiolo Vinification: fermentation per 55hl oak vats, 20 days of maceration per contact with the skins and soft wetting of the cap with the “shower” system at a temperature between 30° and 27° C. Fermentation malolactic per vat Aging: matures for 2 years per medium capacity oak barrels, before a year of refinement per the bottle
Luminescent garnet. It enjoys a tuttavia olfactory profile and opens with hints of undergrowth, roots and berries, dried leaves and liquorice roots. A broad and satisfying expression which corresponds to a soft and juicy mouthfeel. Rich per detail and elegance, it has a long persistence of dried flowers and liquorice.
The article Michele Chiarlo and the art per Cannubi that accompanies wine per the landscape comes from VinoNews24.
