Serralunga’s Vigna Rionda vineyard comes home to Ester Rosso
Author: David Berry Green
Forty years after having to sell the prized vineyard to her uncle, Ester Rosso (nato Canale) is now once again able to walk among and work the very Nebbiolo vines she played between as a child.
On page 218 in Slow Food’s ‘A Wine Atlas of the Langhe’ (2008 edition) is written: ‘If you ask a resident of Serralunga to name the town’s three finest vineyards, one of the trio is sure to be Vigna Rionda’…It is an historic vineyard. The quality of its grapes has been celebrated for hundreds of years and the greatest names in the Langhe have for many years made special efforts to acquire grapes from Vigna Rionda.’
Indeed such was the slightly undignified scramble of calls from producers and businessmen from across the region eager to buy Tommaso Canale’s two hectares (ex. total 10 ha) of Vigna Rionda when news of his premature death became public. According to the Wine Atlas, ‘Vigna Rionda is known the world over thanks to the Bruno Giacosa winery at Neive. Giacosa’s Barolo Collina Rionda – produced until 1993 – has delighted generations of winelovers’. Bruno Giacosa bought that wine and fruit from one Tommaso Canale.
Tommaso was the only child of Aldo Canale, and first cousin of Ester Rosso (nato Canale). He assumed responsibility for tending the Vigna Rionda plot from his father Aldo in 1998. Aldo had bought the land in 1970 from his niece when Ester and her mother Cristina could no longer afford its upkeep; Ester’s father Amelio (Aldo’s brother) died in 1963 from an illness contracted during his internment in a Nazi concentration camp. It was a time when labour was scarce as Italy’s countryside emptied
to the city. A very private man Tommaso regularly stopped by at his cousin’s house but never had time to formulate a will; the vineyard was therefore divided between first cousin Ester and other family relatives.
In describing the terroir of this vineyard Italian journalist Alessandro Masnaghetti, creator of the Enogea series of maps outlining the Crus of the Langhe and beyond, states: ‘Though there is no desire to diminish the importance of others crus of this township, Vigna Rionda, in the collective imagination of many wine lovers, has become synonymous with the Barolo of Serralunga d’Alba..’
So now Az. Agr. Giovanni Rosso (see Ester and Davide in the video below and picture above) proudly has Vigna Rionda in its midst, crowning its other Serralunga vineyards La Serra and Cerretta. Davide Rosso, son of Ester and winemaker at the cantina, has the onerous task of restoring the prime old Vigna Rionda vineyard to full health while relishing the prospect of his first vintage, 2011. In the meantime, the cantina Giovanni Rosso will be releasing Tommaso’s four remaining vintages of Barolo Vigna Rionda (or ‘Riunda’, as Tommaso spelt it), starting with 2007 this autumn.
Berry Bros. and Rudd will be showing and selling the wine at its September ‘Anteprima’ Italian tasting in London; as well as to private customers in Hong Kong.
Great video and a great story! Davide is quite rightly very excited.
…yes Marco, for as the video conveys (!) the sense of Davide’s excitement is palpable!
Ciao ciao
D
http://on.fb.me/pzQYfX This picture (taken by Sigurd Wongraven) shows what looks like somebody just levelled part of Vigna Rionda. Why would they replant everything? And when do they expect to produce from it again..?
Hello Toni – the photo taken by Mr Wongraven shows the part of Vigna Rionga belonging to the neighbours of Giovanni Rosso; it is also deceptive as it doesn’t show the near vertical slope. To the left you can just see the corner of 0.4ha of old Nebbiolo vines that belong to Giovanni Rosso, who are making their first vintage, the 2011; circa 1600 bts! Giovanni Rosso retained a third of their 1.2 ha piece of Vigna Rionda, using the plant material for replanting the new vineyard. The remaining two-thirds Giovanni Rosso chose to grub up & replant as they were a mix of unproductive old vine Dolcetto, Barbera & some Nebbiolo; ie vines that were ill-suited to producing Barolo Vigna Rionda. Taking on a vineyard such as Vigna Rionda is quite a responsibility, with Giovanni Rosso deciding that it was better to invest now in restoring the vineyard to its former greatness rather than simply make do with what they found. A sound business decision in my view.
David, thanks for the details about this interesting change of ownership. Do you know how/if Davide will change the vinification of the remaining old vines? As I believe Tommaso Canale (together with Luca Roagna) used very traditional methods in the cellar (submersed cap, extended maceration and long aging in botti, for instance.
Ciao, A
Hi Anders – Davide Rosso makes traditional Barolo, ie. normal yields, long maceration (up to a month) in a combination of stainless-steel & cement, followed by three years in large french botte grande bought from 1999 onwards. The wine that Tommaso Canale made, which I understand Luca Roagna bought & bottled under his own label, was a combination of very, very old slavonian & chestnut botte (that should probably have been replaced years before in my view) along with a percentage (50%?) of stainless steel. So while Tommaso’s wine was more rustic due to its affinamento, there’s an distinct family likeness between the cousins’ wines, capturing the essence of Vigna Rionda. David
Thanks for the reply David. You don’t happen to be in the shop on St James’ Street on Saturday the 26th Nov? I’ll be in London over that weekend and will probably pay a visit to the shop. It would be great to meet you and chat a bit about Italian wines in general and Piemontese wines in particular. /Anders
Thanks. I like your post. I’ve had a lot of fun tasting older wines for this blog. I’m not sure I can rellay get over the absence of any primary fruit flavor in old Barolo though.