CASCINA PAJANA
AND THE FIERCE TERROIR OF MONFORTE
Renzo Seghesio wears many shoes. He is a farmer, scholar, cartographer, former mayor of Monforte, developer of the town’s first open-air amphitheater, and winemaker. A fairly recent addition to our family and a fitting complement to the cantinas of Deltetto and Forteto della Luja, we’re thrilled to continue our conversation in Piemonte.
Nebbiolo and Barbera run-through Renzo Seghesio’s veins, just as they did for his father, Francesco. They are natives of Monforte d’Alba, the commune in Barolo known for producing commanding expressions of Nebbiolo. The family, since 1900, has owned Cascina Pajana, a smaller division of the Ginestra Cru, made famous by Barolo big boys. Renzo studied winemaking in Alba and was a follower of Piedmont’s renaissance man Giuseppe Pinot-Gallizio, an accomplished painter and chemist as well as a scholar of archaeology and botany. Inspired by Giuseppe, Renzo continued his studies at the University of Turin and received a degree in biology. Returning to Piedmont in the 1960s, Renzo’s intent was to bottle wine from his family’s parcels, rather than sell the fruit. He succeeded in 1968, making his first wine in his family’s garage in 1968, a special kind of “OG” (Original Garagista).
With a patriotic passion for the people and land of Monforte, Renzo served as mayor of the village for 25 years, furthering his connections with winemaking families, artists, and musicians. Within that time, he mapped all the Crus of Monforte, establishing their traditional boundaries as well detailing their soils and exposures. He also spearheaded the construction of the Mieczyslaw Horszowski Amphitheater. The open-air amphitheater, named after the late Polish-American pianist, is a cultural treasure of Monforte and attracts world class musicians. After performances, it’s typical for musicians to stop-by Renzo’s house and pick-up some bottles of “Ars Vivendi” which appropriately translates to “The Art of Living.”
As a young winemaker Renzo understood that his father’s vines were located within one of the finest vineyards in Barolo, Ginestra. There are more than 165 designated Crus in Barolo. A few of them you have heard of, most of them you have not. In the early 1970s, there was a ranking of the Crus, giving well-deserved status to sites like Brunate, Cerequio, and Monprivato. Then in the 1980s, talented cartographer, Alessandro Masnaghetti created his iconic colorful map of Barolo and picked his favorite “Superiore” Crus. In both personal hierarchies, though, Ginestra was overlooked, overshadowed by all-star terroir. Long overdue for a four-star review, Ginestra received published praise in 2014. A respected writer and Italian wine critic merited 10 Crus, including Ginestra, as “exceptional,” the highest honor which states, “Vineyards that consistently produce distinctive wines of a very high level, irrespective of the quality or the style of the year. These sites perform well in vintages of all kinds: cold, hot, rainy, dry and always show their personality.”
With its sensational slopes of calcareous-clay and yellowish sandstone, Ginestra’s mainly south and southeast exposure is an Eden for optimally ripe and stealth Nebbiolo and Barbera. Fierce terroir allied with Renzo’s virtuoso self yields a wine nothing short of “Superiore.” The Renzo Seghesio wines are stories of unselfish collaboration. We cannot end without mentioning Renzo’s sons, Frederico and Raffaele, who have been gracious and professional since our first handshake. We also nod, Gianfranco, the vineyard manager of Cascina Pajana who is a stubborn purist. And Walter Porasso, our colleague and friend who made decades of wines in the cellar of Gianfranco Bovio. Welcome to Monforte, Walter… we think you’re going to like it here.
A new addition to the Seghesio collection, the Arneis is a dear project from Renzo’s sons, Federico and Raffaele (who designed the minimalist label). Relative to other Roero Arneis, the Seghesio expression is a bit racier and leaner, yet still pretty with all its white flowers, apple crunch, and spritz-y summer citrus. Directly south of Canale, in Vezza d’Alba, the family owns and farms grapes in the prized monopole vineyard of San Bernardino. Here, the soils are sand over a calcareous base presented by extreme inclinations, facing south and southwest. Fermentation takes-place in tank for 10 days, and ages on its lees for 8 months (also in tank). All this sets Seghesio’s San Bernardino Arneis worlds apart from the oceans of anonymous Arneis afloat in the world.
Renzo’s Barbera vines are located in the Ginestra vineyard. The soil here is blue-grey marl and the average age of the vines is 55 years-old. In the vineyard, he prunes the Barbera severely to restrain the yields. From there, he destems the fruit and presses it with a basket press into steel tank for fermentation, then an equal split of botti and used barrique for 13 months. The Barbera lights-up with a leathery cherry fruit and cardamon-clove spice. Plump in structure and not-so-shy tannin make this a Barbera for Barolo lovers. It’s not your typical, tutti-frutti red from Asti, Monferrato, or even La Morra. This is over-achieving, over-pleasing, and overly delicious Monforte.
Federico Seghesio and his father, Renzo, long eyed the Nebbiolo vineyards that grow at the “triangle” where Monforte, La Morra, and Santa Maria come together, so when the opportunity to acquire the Roè parcel arose, they jumped. It’s a small vineyard that is just about five acres in size, and is named for the Roe deer that roam the wooded hillsides on its eastern flank. For those who like the details: Planted in 1993, Roè’s Nebbiolo is harvested by hand, sorted twice, destemmed and bladder pressed into stainless steel tanks by gravity flow…no stirring. After its first winter in stainless gravity again assists to move Roè to large Slovenian botti (traditional wood ovals), where it rested until bottling this year. Prior to bottling it received a slight plaque filtration. That’s it. And one more thing: it’s fabulous.
Langhe Nebbiolo from Barolo is suppose to be “Baby Barolo?” A little softer and more user-friendly in its youth, so you can chug your Langhe Nebbiolo by the glass, and savor your money-splurge Barolo on special occasions, right? Well, if that’s the case, then the 2017 “Ruri” is one of those kids who can run circles around most Barolo grown-ups. This is all-Ginestra Nebbiolo to begin with (no short-cuts) produced with a fermentation of 8 to 10 days by way of steel. The wine is held in steel for 9 months, followed by an additional 9 months in 1,500 liter barrels. “Ruri” is a long-puff of earth, exotic spice, and a sweet-dried core of fruit. Unconditionally itself, and definitely an impressive youngster who can makes it’s fancier cousins just seem pointless. Ruri = from Latin = country farm. It’s a fitting name for this one-of-a kind “Bambino Barolo.”
In the summer of 2015, Renzo, Federico, and Raffaele Seghesio all took a little drive with Alan Sobczak from Monforte over to La Morra, not too far by car, but a truly special and distinct “terroir” from Monforte. They pulled up at the base of the vineyard site known as “Bricco Chiesa,” and walked up to the crest of the hill, passing the “House of Nalin” along the way. Anyone who has ever been to La Morra knows just how magical the town and its vineyards are. It’s as though the houses, the hills and even the little foot paths up through the vineyards were created to nurture and raise up the most beautiful and refined of Barolos. On that day in the summer of 2015, the Bricco Chiesa vineyard was in all its glory, and the gentlemen viewing it first conceived their plan for its precious Nebbiolo fruit.
You see, two vineyard parcels at Bricco Chiesa had recently come to the Seghesio family through Raffaele, the son-in-law of Giovenale Viberti, whose own great grandfather is the namesake of the farmhouse in the midst of the vineyard (the House of Nalin), and who originally planted the vineyard in the 19th century. The House of Nalin is very important in the memories of the local old-timers and their families for it was there that seven freedom fighters took refuge in a well and a spring at the entrance to the farm to avoid capture by Mussolini’s military during World War II. This wine honors both the memory of the original Giovenale Viberti and the partisans who were saved at his farmhouse.
One of the Bricco Chiesa parcels faces south at 250 meters of altitude and the other faces west at 300 meters. The soil in both parcels is the justly famous “Marne di Sant’Agata Fossili,” that is the fine clayey-limestone marls of La Morra that can sheath the naturally powerful fruit of Nebbiolo in velvet. Of course, the wine of such a fine place does not just happen overnight. In 2015 the Seghesios knew what they wanted, but it would take time to bring to fruition. Chief among their plans was to obtain organic certification from Associazione “Suolo e Salute.” The vineyard is organically cultivated now, but the full certification will require another two vintages.
The hillside vineyard of the Bricco Chiesa and its remarkable soil make a sublime Barolo possible; the “touch” of the Seghesios make it a reality. The vineyard is a garden to them and the fruit is a gift. They select fruit with keen attention in the vineyard and during harvest focusing on cluster separation in order to have as much control during fermentation as possible. Each parcel is vinified independently in temperature controlled vats of 3,200 liter capacity, and fermented with a combination of indigenous and cultivated yeast to maximize both the fruit quality of the wine and stability of the process. The 2018 fermented for 36 days under a submerged cap before racking off into large Slavonian oak botti of 3,200 liter capacity for a total of 32 months. Oh, and yes, the wine is not filtered.
The Ca d’ Nalin is true La Morra elegance with rich floral notes, polished tannins, saturated tones of ruby color and heady rose and anise elements on the palate. We say, “Bravo to the Seghesios!”