"Focused, taut and driving in feel, the 2019 exudes energy from start to finish. Rose petal, blood orange, sage, mint and crushed red berry fruit all run through this beautifully sculpted, vivid Barolo. This is a superb example of the classicism of the year." - Vinous
Barolo is a region of fiercely independent people. Yet, even in Barolo, Teobaldo Cappellano stood out. He was thought of almost as much as a poet and a philosopher as he was for being a winemaker. He was known as one of the great traditionalists. Always dedicated to the way that made the truest possible expression of his vineyards. Even to the extent of planting and farming un-grafted nebbiolo michet. In 1983 he banished all journalists from his cellar unless they agreed not to rate his wines because he felt the ratings were generating animosity among his neighbors. He was president of the influential Vini Veri group in Barolo, the Italian sister to the French Return to Terroir movement. His fellow vignerons knew him as a “wine artist” and the lucky few collectors who could find his wines drank them up. His son Augusto inherited his yearning to seek through their wines the truth of their vineyards as well as his parcel of own-rooted nebbiolo vines. Under his hand the wines are better than ever.
Piè Franco is an incredible Barolo in that it comes from the michet clone of nebbiolo planted by Teobaldo in 1989. The vines have miraculously never been affected by phylloxera, though they remain on their own roots. The fermentation of the wine takes place over two weeks to a month with indigenous yeasts and then the wine ages in huge, very old botti for at least 3 years.
Mythic gem-like, all of the flavor is concentrated down into a perfect ruby structure. Ethereal and elegant, this Barolo allows a rare taste back through history to what the region produced before phylloxera. This is a wine of legends.
The integrity of your wine is our highest concern. Orders placed during the summer months will be put on hold and fulfilled as soon as temperatures permit. Learn more here.
