Bruno Giacosa: Barbaresco Santo Stefano 1964-2007
BY ANTONIO GALLONI |
Over the years I have been fortunate to taste many of Bruno Giacosa’s wines. This comprehensive vertical of the Barbaresco Santo Stefano, held over two evenings and going back to the inaugural 1964, was truly unforgettable. There were plenty of surprises from a number of dark horse vintages, while the epic Red Label Riservas once again proved why these are some of the most coveted wines in the world. Above all else, though, the wines were a poignant reminder of the genius of Bruno Giacosa.
A Brief History…
Bruno Giacosa was born in 1929 in Neive. Giacosa’s father, Carlo, was a commerciante (a grape broker) who bought grapes from small growers and families and then sold them to one of the large firms that bottled Barolo and Barbaresco. These were very different times than what we see today. Farmers subsisted, if they were lucky, on a variety of crops, including grains, grapes and various animals. No more than a handful of large, commercial firms bottled and sold Barbaresco and Barolo. Because of their size, those companies controlled the market.
As a young man, though, Giacosa had his sights on something else. He wanted to make his own wine, as the family had in prior generations. That thought was blasphemous to Giacosa’s father, who violently opposed the idea because the young Bruno would have serious conflicts of interests. Who would get the best-looking grapes from a given site? Giacosa’s grape customer, or the new Bruno Giacosa winery? Giacosa opposed his father and went ahead with his plans anyway, showing that cool determination and strength that has always been one of his traits.
Two early masterpieces; note the use of the word 'Cru' in the 1967
Giacosa made his first wine, a Barbaresco Riserva, in 1961. If well stored, the 1961 Riserva is still sublime. Up until the mid-1960s, Barolo and Barbaresco were blended wines. Some vineyards were prized for their aromatics, while others sought out for their fruit and/or structure. The prevailing wisdom was to combine the best attributes of several sites to make a complete, well-balanced wine. Around this time, well-known Italian wine writer Luigi Veronelli began pushing Piedmontese growers to emulate French producers, especially those in Burgundy, by bottling single-vineyard wines to exalt the attributes of specific sites. Indeed, some of the Giacosa labels from this era make use of the word ‘Cru' as can be seen in the bottle of 1967 Asili Barbaresco Riserva above and the 1964 and 1968 Santo Stefanos below. Note that the 1969 has 'Cru' marked out. The connection between Piedmont and France might seem surprising, but Piedmont was in fact part of France from 1798 to 1814, and some cities belonged to House of Savoy as far back as the 11th century. Traces of French culture remain in Piedmont even today, especially among the older generation of growers who are far more likely to speak French than English. In 1964, Giacosa made his first declared single-vineyard wine, the 1964 Barbaresco Riserva Speciale Santo Stefano, which is still a magical bottle.
Over the years I have been fortunate to taste many of Bruno Giacosa’s wines. This comprehensive vertical of the Barbaresco Santo Stefano, held over two evenings and going back to the inaugural 1964, was truly unforgettable. There were plenty of surprises from a number of dark horse vintages, while the epic Red Label Riservas once again proved why these are some of the most coveted wines in the world. Above all else, though, the wines were a poignant reminder of the genius of Bruno Giacosa.
