Brovia

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Country of Origin: Italy
Location: Castiglione Falletto, Barolo
People: Brovia Family, Owners | Giacinto Brovia, Enologist
Viticulture: Practicing Organic

Items

Brovia 2023 Roero Arneis DOCG Login In Stock
Brovia 2020 Barolo DOCG Login In Stock

In 1863 Giacinto Brovia founded the Brovia estate in the village of Castiglione Falletto, in the heart of the Barolo district. The family has been continually engaged in the growing of grapes and the production of wine since that time. The phylloxera plague, economic upheaval and two wars interrupted production for almost 30 years but, in 1953, two brothers, Giacinto and Raffaele, grandchildren of the founder, resumed full-scale wine production. Giacinto, a trained enologist, was (and still is) responsible for the production of the wine while Raffaele, a trained agronomist, supervised the vineyard work. Sadly, Raffaele passed away in 2011 but two of Giacinto’s daughters, Cristina and Elena, are now completely engaged as the fourth generation, in the affairs of this family-run estate. Marina, Giacinto’s wife and mother of their children, is a brilliant cook and provider of wise counsel, and Alex Sanchez, husband of Elena, has joined the family enterprise.

The Brovias, from generation to generation, have been conscientious buyers of some of the finest vineyard sites in this noble zone, concentrating their efforts in their home village of Castiglione Falletto and the neighboring Serralunga d’Alba. Brovia owns land in a variety of the best "cru" of Piedmont such as Rocche, Villero and Garblét Sue, all in Castiglione Falletto, as well as Brea in Serralunga. These different vineyard plots represent a range of soil types, from heavier clay to friable limestone. The Brovias are extremely conscientious winegrowers and farm organically in every sense of that word (without being formally certified). They perform soil analyses every two years to ensure that the elements are in equilibrium; pruning is done to limit harvest levels; and grape clusters are thinned, when necessary, in the summer. Harvest is done entirely by hand and usually begins in late September with the Dolcetto, Arneis and Barbera; of course, the Nebbiolo ripens later, and harvest for the various Baroli occurs normally in mid-October.

The Brovia wines are vinified in the classic style. Grapes are lightly crushed before going into the fermentation tanks. The length of the fermentation period depends on the grape variety but the Nebbiolo for various Barolo cuvées can extend as long as a month or more at temperatures between 28 and 30 degrees Celsius. The Baroli are aged for at least two years in 30 hectoliter barrels of Slavonian and French oak. The wines are then bottled without filtration and released to the market after an additional 18 to 24 months of bottle-aging. The cuvées of Dolcetto and Barbera are handled differently, with the Dolcetto being aged exclusively in stainless steel tanks and the Barbera in stainless with a portion of the Serralunga-based wine in smaller barrels, with a portion going into French oak barrels for 9 - 10 months. The wines are bottled without filtration.

The Brovia estate encompasses 19.2 hectares with 55% of the production dedicated to Barolo, 25% in Dolcetto, 10% to Barbera and the remaining 10% produced from Arneis, Nebbiolo d’Alba and Freisa.

Reviews

  • Brovia 2020 Barolo, Brea - Vigna Ca'Mia, DOCG
    Vinous
    Rating: 95 (11/1/2023)

    The 2020 Barolo Brea Vigna Ca'Mia expresses all the magic of this Serralunga site. Wild herbs, menthol, licorice, incense, crushed flowers, mint and sage all run through a deep, layered Barolo that hits all the right notes. Here, too, the tannins feel remarkably polished for a young Barolo, especially one from Serralunga. Readers will have a hard time keeping their hands off of this. The 2020 has been totally alluring in several recent tastings.
  • Brovia 2020 Barolo, Villero, DOCG
    Vinous
    Rating: 94+ (11/1/2023)

    Brovia's 2020 Barolo Villero is a potent, savory wine. Dried herbs, menthol, licorice, wildflowers, spice and dark-toned fruit give the Villero its distinctive personality. Broad swaths of tannin wrap it all together. Dark and brooding, the 2020 is not ready to reveal its charms. All this needs is time - I can't wait to taste it in another few years. As is often the case, the Villero is Barolo that emphasizes savory/earthy/mineral notes more than overt fruit.