2017 La Spinona Barbaresco Secondine Nebbiolo

The history of La Spinona dates back to November 1920, when Giovanni bought one hectare in the cru Faset in Barbaresco. In 1996 Pietropaolo (5th generation) started working at La Spinona after achieving a degree in oenology at the local Alba university and over the years acquired more vineyard holdings in Barbaresco and Barolo. Today the estate owns 24 hectares of vineyards, primarily in the commune of Barbaresco.Spinona is an Italian dog breed, a hunting dog common to the region. Pietro had a Spinona dog called Baica. During a hunting trip Pietro’s son Gualtiero fell into the Tanaro river and Baica saved his life, rescuing him from drowning. As a gesture of gratitude Pietro called the estate La Spinona and designed the labels to represent Baica’s portrait.Sourced from their vineyard holdings in the Secondine Cru, also owned and farmed by Angelo Gaja. Hand picked, 100% destemmed, 1 to 3 days pre ferment cold soak, 8 to 10 days ferment on skins, 8 to 10 days post ferment soak in tank then pressed off to 2500 litre barrels made from Alliers, all over 15 years old. 9 months elevage then in bottle a further 12 months before release.