The Piedmont region in Northwest Italy is home to Massimo Rivetti and his family farm for five generations now. The family grows its grapes across 25 hectares, mainly divided between Barbaresco and Barbera d’Alba under an organic certification. With vines from 35 to 75 years old, the land here is carefully managed. Wine production doesn’t use herbicides or pesticides to grow the grapes, instead, various herbs are hand sown to help the plants naturally fertilize. When the grapes are ready to be harvested, they are handpicked to allow for the best selection of produce. Their philosophy is to transform high quality grapes in order to produce a great wine, so they are really focused on the vineyards and plants. In the cellar they look to find the best oak for the aging of each wine. Using barrels from Claus Pauscha, an Austrian cooper, who buys different pieces of oak in different parts of the world and then he produces a barrel for each vineyard.
All the beauty and strength of the Piedmontese philosophy shows in this traditional wine. It is aged in large (25hL) barrels of Slavonian oak where it matures for eighteen months, prior to at least 6 months in bottle, developing soft tannins and an elegant body.