Winemaker Notes
The farms are all located within the prized Barolo wine-growing area: Batasiolo, Morino, Cerequio and Brunate in La Morra; Boscareto and the historical Briccolina in Serralunga d’Alba; Bricco di Vergne and Zonchetta in Barolo; Tantesi and Bussia Bofani in Monforte d’Alba.
Deciding to give the property a new name, the Dogliani brothers took their inspiration from the vineyard where the estate headquarters are located. Thus it was that the new winery, set amidst the gentle contours of the Batasiolo vineyard, came to be called “Beni di Batasiolo”.
The real essence of “Beni di Batasiolo” cannot be understood without admiring the expanses of its vineyards in the finest and most important wine-growing villages of the Langhe. In the old local dialect the word “beni” means a property or estate, and it is this idea of the unbreakable bond existing between the farmer and his vineyard which is encapsulated in the name “Beni di Batasiolo”.
Batasiolo, the wine cellar which besides having all its vineyards in the heart of the Langhe, a land known above-all for its great reds, produces all the most celebrated wines grown in this region, including Barolo, Barbaresco, Barbera d’Alba Sovrana and Dolcetto d’Alba Bricco di Vergne, as well as great whites such as Moscato d’Asti Bosc dla Rei, Langhe Chardonnay Morino and Gavi del Comune di Gavi. This magnificent range is completed by the elegant Batasiolo Metodo Classico millésimé and the exclusive Moscato Passito Muscatel Tardì.
Barolo is the emblem of the cellar’s production, its real pièce de résistance, and Beni di Batasiolo is proud to present as many as four different Cru grown on the privileged hills of Barolo, Monforte, Serralunga and La Morra: Barolo Bussia Vigneto Bofani, Barolo Boscareto, Barolo Cerequio, Barolo Brunate, and the winner of many awards, Barolo Briccolina.
Recognized as the source of the best Barbera in all of Italy, Asti is a province (as well as major city) in Piedmont, consisting of a gentle, rolling landscape with vineyards, farmland and forests alternating throughout.
Barbera d’Asti can be made in an array of styles from relatively straightforward, fruity and ready for consumption early, to the more concentrated, oak aged version with an ability to cellar impressively for 10-15 years and beyond. Some of the very best sites for Barbera in Asti are concentrated in the subzone of Nizza Monferrato. Other red varieties grown here include Freisa, Grignolino and Dolcetto, which can be bottled varietally or blended into Barbera.
Historically consumers commonly associated the Asti region with Asti Spumante and Moscato d’Asti, both playful, aromatic, sparkling wines made from the Muscat grape. Asti Spumante is less sweet, fully fizzy and more alcoholic (yet still clocking in at only around 9% alcohol) while Moscato d’Asti is sweeter, gently sparkling (“frizzante”) and closer to 5 or 6% alcohol. Each is produced in stainless steel tanks to preserve the fresh and fruity flavors of the grape, often including peach, apricot, lychee and rose petal. Asti is also the spot for the pink-hued Brachetto d'Acqui, a slightly sparkling wine ready to charm with its raspberry and rose flavors and aromas.
While Muscat comes in a wide range of styles from dry to sweet, still to sparkling and even fortified, it's safe to say it is always alluringly aromatic and delightful. The two most important versions are the noble, Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, making wines of considerable quality and Muscat of Alexandria, thought to be a progeny of the former. Somm Secret—Pliny the Elder wrote in the 13th century of a sweet, perfumed grape variety so attractive to bees that he referred to it as uva apiana, or “grape of the bees.” Most likely, he was describing Muscat.