Barbarescos Made by Bruno Giacosa

Notes on Barbaresco Vineyards and Special Bottlings

• Here is a label for a 1911 Barbaresco from Carlo Giacosa & Figli sent to me by the winery. Carlo Giacosa was the grandfather of Bruno Giacosa.

• In 1996, Giacosa purchased a plot in Asili from Odore who was a member of the Produttori del Barbaresco and whose grapes had previously gone into the Produttori's Asili.
• The Asili plot from Odore came with another plot on the border of Asili and Rabajà. Giacosa bottled this second plot as Rabajà from 1996 until 2005, except in 1999 when no 1999 Rabajà was produced because of hail storm damage. I refer to this plot as Rabajà I.
• 2005 was the last vintage from this plot labeled "Rabajà" by Giacosa. He continues to own this plot, but new rules put the vineyard in Asili, not Rabajà. Beginning with the 2007 vintage Giacosa has not been able to use the name Rabajà for this wine. There was talk in the media that Giacosa could use a so-called fantasy name (like Gaja's Sori Tildin) which is allowed by law. However, they decided not to do that. So grapes from this parcel either go into the Asili bottling or the base Barbaresco bottling or get sold off in bulk.
• In 2007, Giacosa made a white label and red label Asili. According to Antonio, the white label Asili is 80% from the plot formerly labeled Rabajà, while the Asili Riserva is 100% from the parcel that had previously been labeled Asili.
• More recently, the grapes from the plot formerly labeled Rabajà have gone into the Asili bottling (e.g. in 2015) or into a separate base Barbaresco bottling (e.g. 2014).

• In June 2013, Giacosa purchased a new plot in the Rabajà Vineyard. It is approximately one half hectare (about 1.25 acres) and should produce about 4000 bottles. I refer to this plot as Rabajà II.
• This plot was owned by Giovanni Alutto who was a member of the Produttori del Barbaresco. Alutto's grapes had gone into the Produttori's Rabajà in every vintage up to and including 2005 in which it was made. In 2004, Giovanni Alutto died suddenly. In 2005, his son, Lorenzo Alutto used this plot to start his own winery, which he named Ca' du Rabajà. In 2013, Lorenzo sold this plot to Giacosa.
• The winery is very happy with the grapes harvested in 2013, so they have produced a 2013 Giacosa Rabajà from this plot. And continuing in subsequent vintages. This wine is usually released a year later than the Asili when both are non-riservas.

• Here is a map of Giacosa's holdings in Asili and Rabajà that I made from Google Maps with the help of Masnaghetti's Enogea Barbaresco map.
  
  • The plot on the left in yellow was always labeled Asili and still officially in Asili.
  • The plot in the middle in blue is the one I refer to as Rabajà I which was labeled Rabajà from 1996 until 2005, but is now in Asili.
  • The plot on the right in red is the new (iin 2013) Rabajà plot officially in Rabajà, which I refer to as Rabajà II. (The plot in orange below that is Alutto's other Rabajà plot, which is now owned by Bera.)
  • Click on the photo for a larger version with caption.
  • Original map © Google.

• 1974 was the first vintage for Giacosa Gallina di Neive and 1998 was the last vintage. According to Wasserman, the grapes came from the Parroco di Neive, which in 1973 became the Azienda San Michele, though they still bottle their wine under the Parroco di Neive label.

• This vineyard, made iconic by Bruno Giacosa, has been owned by the Stupino family of Castello di Neive since the 1960s. It was actually known as the Santo Stefano Farm when the Stupinos bought it, along with the Castle (which is depicted at the top of the label of most of Giacosa's non-estate-bottled wines).
• The very first vineyard-designated wine produced by Bruno Giacosa was the 1964 Santo Stefano Riserva Speciale.
• Moreover, Bruno Giacosa has said that the grapes for his first Barbaresco Riserva in 1961 were from Santo Stefano as well.
• In 1996, Santo Stefano di Neive was produced only in a white label, no riserva was produced.
• In 1998, Santo Stefano di Neive Riserva was produced, no white label was produced.
• Sadly, 2011 will be the last vintage for Giacosa Santo Stefano di Neive. According to Bruna Giacosa, We decided to stop the production of the Santo Stefano since we did not have the complete control of the vineyard. I believe that this refers to a change in policy by Giacosa, since as far as I know, they have never controlled the farming at Santo Stefano.
• Santo Stefano is a sub-vineyard of the Albesani Vineyard. In recent years, this wine has been labeled as Albesani Santo Stefano to reflect this fact and new labeling requirements.
• A Barbaresco labeled as Albesani di Neive was made in 1971. My guess is that this wine was made from grapes from outside Santo Stefano but within the larger Albesani vineyard.

• A Barbaresco Albesani di Neive was made in 1971. Note that Santo Stefano di Neive is part of the Albesani vineyard.
• A Barbaresco Montefico di Barbaresco was made in 1969, 1970, and 1971. There was also a Cavalieri bottling of 1970 Giacosa Montefico.
• A Barbaresco San Cristoforo di Neive was made in 1971 and 1974.
• A Barbaresco Rio Sordo di Barbaresco was made in 1985.
• Cavalieri bottlings: According to the website of the Ordine dei Cavalieri del Tartufo e dei Vini d'Alba the following Bruno Giacosa Barbarescos have been bottled under their label (as well as his own):
  • 1970 Montefico di Barbaresco.
  • 1979 and 1980 Gallina di Neive.
  • 1978, 1979, and 1980 Santo Stefano di Neive.

Top of this page

All original content © Ken Vastola