Neive, Piedmont
Bruno Giacosa is one of the legendary winemakers of the world and crafted some of the most prestigious single-vineyard Barolo and Barbaresco wines during a career.
His story is as simple and unique as his wines, characteristics that have earned him the accolade of winemaker of Langa par excellence and his wines continue to arouse enthusiasm even years later. Great, simple and elegant wines that, without ostentation and immune to passing fashions, represent not only a terroir but the single vine. Bruno Giacosa’s character is reflected in his wines and vice versa, forming an inseparable duo.
Bruno, age 16, began to work with his father at the end of the Second World War, travelling around the Langhe and learning to select the grapes and the art of negotiation. In the cellar, he learnt to use and rely on his nose, asserting that, while it is important to taste many different wines, learning to use your nose is equally important as this makes it possible to understand whether a wine is clean or dirty, able to age well, whether it deserves a great label, whether it should be aged before bottling or sold immediately.
At the age of 31, Bruno took over the family business, officially establishing the Bruno Giacosa winery in 1960 for the production of only quality wines. He started to purchase the best grapes of the best vineyards of the Langhe and in 1960, he labelled the first 20.000 bottles of different wines produced previously and preserved. The first label with his name dates back to 1957. His wines epitomize the importance of site selection, as stressed by the French and as confirmed by their longevity.
In 1980, Bruno succeeded in purchasing a large vineyard at Serralunga, 13 hectares dedicated to the Falletto cru: a vineyard that was to bring him great emotions and great results. To locate a beautiful vineyard for sale in the zone of Barbaresco, he was forced to wait until 1996 when he purchased more than 5 hectares on the Asili cru. The years passed but Bruno’s idea was always the same: whether a wine is good or not is determined in the vineyard because there’s not much you can do in the cellar and, if the grapes are not sound, you can never create a great wine.
Giacosa did not become involved in the debate between innovators and traditionalists sparked in the 1980 and 1990s and has demonstrated over the years that he is closely tied to the more classical expression of Nebbiolo as he is convinced that it does not require addition of extraneous elements. He has never stored his wines in French barriques, only in the traditional big oak barrels that age wines slowly and is the ideal method to obtain wines that fully respect the personality of the grapes and which can be aged in bottles for more than thirty years.
Bruno Giacosa died January the 21st, 2018 at the age of 88: we can say that he has been a great traditionalist but also extremely modern. Our contemporary concept of natural, organic, biodynamic wine that reflects the terroir and the cycles of nature is a model that Giacosa has always pursued, with results that can be verified more than 30 years later. Few can rival Bruno Giacosa, not only for the stature of his work, but for the dizzying number of famous wines he made in his career: while other men have made great wines in either Barolo or Barbaresco, only Giacosa, for more than a half century, produced a steady stream of heroic wines from both zones.
Bruno Giacosa’s 2018 death definitely robbed the world of one of its greatest winemakers. However, his daughter Bruna has continued her father’s important work. Her commitment assures us that the Giacosa name on a bottle of Barolo or Barbaresco denotes both highest quality and true vineyard expression.
“Bruno Giacosa continues to make stunning wines of the highest level". Antonio Galloni, Wine Advocate, December 2011
Main Wines
Spumante Metodo Classico Extra Brut
Nebbiolo d'Alba Vigna Valmaggiore
Barbaresco Rabajà
Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà
Barbaresco Asili
Barbaresco Riserva Asili
Barolo Falletto
Barolo Riserva Falletto Vigna Le Rocche