Poderi Fogliati

Castiglione Falletto, Langhe

Bussia, the first ever Barolo cru to be vinified as a single-district wine, is arguably one of the greatest growing sites in all of Barolo. Within Bussia the historic wine-growing sub-region of Pugnane is amongst and historically has always been amongst the very best locations to grow nebbiolo. As such, Poderi Foglati was born as a result of tradition as well as passion. In 1800 the estate which extends between Castiglione Falletto and Monforte was owned by a historic producer and exporter of Barolo by the name of Spirito Zocca. In the early 50’s Guido Fogliati took over production, and when he passed away the vines were continuously cultivated but all the fruit was sold off to important producers.

In 2016, the grandchildren of Fogliati, Annalisa and Guido, took over the land, converted to organic cultivation and brought the label back to life. The vines growing at Fogliati are truly something special. The vineyards soil is rich in marl and the fruit grows on an ideal south-west aspect. These nebbiolo vines are nearly 100 years old, which is particularly unique in the region. In Langa, the tradition has always been to replace the vines every 20 years with the goal of quantity over quality, however, because no estate wine was being produced for so long, this never happened and as a result we have these amazing old vines producing extremely high-quality fruit.

Realizing that the key to great wine happens in the vineyard, Annalisa and Guido aim to take good care of their vines and use only organic treatments to promote healthy biodiversity in the vineyards. The fruit is harvested entirely by hand during the first two weeks of October. Once moved into the winery the grapes are destemmed and pressed. Very little intervention is used or needed during vinification, because the vines produce such high-quality fruit to begin with. Fermentation takes place entirely spontaneously from healthy yeast living on the skin of the grapes. The juice is macerated for 45 days as a slow long fermentation takes place in steel tanks, after which the wine is moved into large wooden barrels for one year before bottling. There is no filtration or fining done at bottling, and only 3000 bottles are produced in total.

In the wonderful setting of Castiglione Falletto, overlooking the spectacular hills of the Langhe, a UNESCO heritage site, a young and dynamic winery has been reborn. Guido and Annalisa are truly passionate about making wine the right way and are dedicated to respecting the land as much as the tradition that has come with it.