Prunotto Barbaresco DOCG: three villages and the memory of Nebbiolo

A Langhe red connecting geography, craftsmanship and the pleasure of discovery.

Vineyard landscape in the Barbaresco appellation: rows of vines connect the wine’s name with the Langhe hills.
David Haberthür · Original image · CC BY 2.0

Three villages in one glass

This Prunotto Barbaresco comes from vineyards in Barbaresco, Treiso and Neive, in Piedmont. Nebbiolo is its only grape, making up 100% of the blend. The appellation also includes part of Alba. These place names let you read the wine like a map: the hills matter just as much as the grape variety.

The teacher and the growers

In the late nineteenth century, Domizio Cavazza, director of Alba’s school of oenology, helped establish Barbaresco’s identity. Prunotto connects this development with 1894. Wine already existed here: the story is about a community giving its territory a name, an ambition and wider recognition, rather than creating a drink out of nothing.

Casks that accompany time

Recent Prunotto sheets describe around a year in oak casks of different capacities. The Antinori family became involved in the estate in 1989 and directly in production from 1994. The combined name “Prunotto · Marchesi Antinori” therefore brings together a Piedmontese identity and continuity of work, rather than erasing the name on the bottle.

From aroma to texture

The estate’s notes evoke woodland berries, aromatic herbs, sweet tobacco, liquorice and black pepper. These words describe sensations, not added spices. Follow the transition from fruit to the texture of tannins, then the length of the finish. The producer’s description of a velvety palate accompanies a definite structure. Taking your time lets you notice those different dimensions of the wine.