Wineries in Langhe: Cascina Bruciata - Barbaresco

Oh you know… It was just my usual Monday, shooting for a film promo for the upcoming Fiera Del Tartufo 😉 and my other wino bud Valerie (and fellow actress) and I had to kill two hours during the lunch hour. After contemplating many ideas, of course we decided to hop in the car and go find a random winery to visit in Barbaresco. What else? As we were driving, the sign for Cascina Bruciata caught my eye. I remembered giving this good tasting votes during my blind taste test this spring at Nebbiolo Prima. Sitting in the car for about 5 minutes, afraid to walk into this quiet looking farmhouse with no appointment, we mustered up the courage and asked the woman hanging out her clothes if we could do a tasting. Out walked a big bearded guy with a big black eye, bandage on his brow, wearing slippers and an unbuttoned shirt.

But sometimes the big tough looking guys are the sweetest teddy bear types in the world. This was exactly Carlo. You could tell he was a REAL farmer type vintner by his rough strong hands, as he pointed out his vineyards in the prestigious Rio Sordo cru in Barbaresco. As Italians love to do, he was just complaining a bit about the morning’s thunderstorm and gusty winds when BOOM! A canon fired to break up the air to prevent the hail the best they could. This specific zone was one of the few in all of Langhe who still uses this tactic. Thank god it worked!

Carlo quickly went through the tour of the cellar, explaining the use of big barrels and barriques in their wines. He even had a special wine barrel just for me! He must have known I was a big time movie celebrity in Alba:) Then we went into his humble tasting room to taste the most amazing wines ever…

Barbera, Nebbiolo, Barbaresco 2009 and Barbaresco Rio Sordo Riserva 2007. Each wine got better and better and Carlo won us over with his enthusiastic explanations and emphasis on the work that he does in the vineyards. No secret to it. To talk about the tannins and how they cleanse your palate between meals, I would have compared it to a sorbet. Instead, Carlo talked about Bollito Misto, typically a 5 piece platter of Piemontese boiled meats. “If you start from the head which is really fatty and then go to the tender and delicate muscle, you won’t be able to taste the muscle well. If you take a swig of Nebbiolo in between, only then can you get the best out of the muscle!” I didn’t tell him I was a vegetarian because we were getting along so well! Plus, I thought his true Piemontesiness and down to earth ways were so cool!

Valerie and I ahhhed and oohhhed about the Barbarescos and their bouquet of overwhelming dark chocolate, spice, nut brittle When Carlo described the scene of sitting on a leather couch in front of the fireplace with crackling olive wood on the fire, that just about summed it all up! As we were commenting on the amazing progression of flavors and evolution, I saw him stroll to the wines and reach over for the 2003 Riserva Barbaresco. I know we are VIPS and all but this, we just couldn’t accept. However, we used it as the perfect excuse to come back with our boys.