Brovia Barolo 2006

L'azienda Brovia is a traditional Piemontese family winegrowing estate. Giacinto Brovia began making wine there in 1863 followed by his son Antonio. Phylloxera, economic upheaval and finally the war interrupted production for almost 30 years. In 1953 Giacinto, Raffaele and Marina were old enough to take over the farm and resume winemaking. Family involvement doesn't end there however, after earning their oenology degrees, daughters Elena and Cristina have chosen to join their parents as well.

Grandfather Giacinto was a wise man and chose some of the best sites in the region for his vineyards. Brovia owns land in the best "cru" of Piedmont such as Rocche, Villero and Garblét Sue. These different vineyard plots represent a range of soil types, from heavier clay to direr limestone. The Brovias are extremely conscientious winegrowers and the accumulated experience of generations means that they know the characteristics of each of their vineyards, if not of each of the individual vines, and the wines that come from them. Nevertheless, they perform soil analyses every two years to ensure that the elements are in equilibrium for the vines to produce high quality grapes. Pruning is done with care and clusters are thinned again in the summer. Harvest is done entirely by hand and usually begins in late September with the Dolcetto, Arneis and Barbera, the Nebbiolo ripens later, near mid October.

Giancinto Brovia vinifies his wines in the classic style. Grapes are lightly crushed before going into the fermentation tanks. Fermentation generally lasts between 15 and 20 days at a temperature near 28 degrees Celsius for the Barolo, somewhat less for the other reds. the Barolo are aged for two years in "botti" made of Slavonian and French oak. The Dolcetto, Barbarseco and Barbera are aged mainly in stainless steel tanks, with a portion going into French oak barrels for 9 - 10 months. the Roero Arneis is vinified and aged in stainless steel. Brovia bottles his wines without filtration.