Giacomo Fenocchio

Claudio Fenocchio’s estate is comprised of prized vineyards (14 hectares in total) spanning across Cannubi in Barolo, Villero in Castiglione Falletto, and Bussia in Monforte d’Alba, where his cantina rests at the crest of the hill. In April of 1989, Claudio’s father, Giacomo passed away, leaving him to take over all farming and winemaking duties for the estate. These were challeng- ing times for Barolo, Claudio explains. 

When many producers were pushing innovative ways to make Barolo, and having great commercial success, Claudio never strayed from the path of tradition. Just like the four generations that preceded him (the estate was founded in 1864), Claudio continued producing his wines with the time-honoured techniques of the classic style: organic farming, with long fermentations on the skins and aging only in large Slavonian oak casks. Not much has changed today, except for a few more vineyards, and a new winery. But he continues his commitment to making wines with a classic and authentic expression, and with an unwavering focus on purity of fruit. Claudio’s wines display a level of terroir clarity that only producers of higher echelon manage to produce. 

He is a rising star winemaker in Italy with a bright future. The cantina, homed in a new building, is relatively modern. Stainless steel tanks (as well as wooden fermenters) for fermentation and the production of white wines along with the lush, bright reds of their introductory range. Then, there are the venerated staples, made in large Slavonian oak casks dominating the pristine cantina. Claudio is partial to ambient yeasts for fermentation, and though current macerations are long, he has been experimenting with ones that last as long as 90 days – an exploration of past methods that is yielding very interesting results. 

The Baroli of Giacomo Fenocchio are a masterful combination of purity and tradition, finely detailed and terroir-focused that shows their grandeur seamlessly. In October of 2014, The New York Times rated Fenocchio in second position in a tasting of 2010 Barolos – coming behind only Elio Altare and ahead of Elio Grasso, Massolino, and Vietti.