“Barbera red”: it’s one of the most classic colors, which in Piedmont frame the era of the grape harvest. Mission accomplished, also this year, in the vineyards of the Marchisio Family. «A truly excellent vintage, with full ripeness at the right time», says Sergio Marchisio, more than satisfied with the harvest: «The gradation is expected to be robust, even if we didn’t thin out too much: the yield is reduced to 60 quintals of grapes per hectare only in the case of Castellinaldo, our Barbera d’Alba Superiore». The tendency, in fact, is not to overload the wine, facilitating its drinkability. Traditional Piedmontese queen of the “daily” glass, Barbera represents a significant voice in the company: about 20,000 bottles per year, from an area of 4 hectares planted with vines.
After the Arneis grape harvest, which opens the autumn season, Barbera is the first red wine – organic and biodonamic – to enter the cellar. It undergoes a very first phase of processing in horizontal winemakers, with frequent pumping over, and then moves on to the stainless steel tanks, without pumping over or fulling, for about twenty days. The following refinement, always in steel, will allow the Barbera just harvested to be ready for March-April. Castellinaldo will face a long evolution in acacia barrels: it will be possible to taste it not before autumn 2021. Easy forecast: the Barbera 2020, meanwhile, will be excellent. «It’s due to a really auspicious season», Sergio explains: «The climate was particularly mild, with the right temperatures and a bit of rain when it was needed».
The village of Castellinaldo, moreover, boasts a very long tradition, regarding Barbera: «My grandfather harvested it already 70-75 years ago», says Sergio Marchisio, a true pioneer, in the Roero, of biodynamic viticulture. A philosophy that aims to build harmony, in wine, starting from the soil. The mission: to work, year after year, to restore the original fertility of the soil in a natural way. To the “Steineian” fertilization practices, such as horn-manure and biodynamic heap, the Marchiso Family adds seasonal green manure to reinvigorate the rows during the winter. Their conduction is ultra-biological: «We are gradually giving up copper and sulfur, which are also allowed in the Bio specification: we prefer to use essential oils (orange and rosemary) that perform the same function». The must of Barbera 2020, meanwhile, has begun to “boil”. In six months, all that will be left to do is taste it.
(New Delivery Service: Marchisio Family now also delivers your favorite wine to your home. Contact us: 320 8732898).
