The story of Bruno Giacosa is as simple and unique as his wines, characteristics that have earned him the accolade of winemaker of Langa par excellence and his wines continue to arouse enthusiasm even years later. Great, simple and elegant wines that, without ostentation and immune to passing fashions, represent not only a terroir but the single vine. Bruno Giacosa’s character is reflected in his wines and vice versa, forming an inseparable duo. For this reason, his keynote address followed by awarding of an honorary degree at the University of Pollenzo in 2012 was not only fascinating, presenting an overview of the history of Italian wine-making, but also essential to understand and appreciate even more (if needed!) his wines.

Bruno Giacosa was born in the Langhe area of Piedmont in 1929 and the first fragrances he enjoyed were those of the wine of his grandfather Carlo who was already producing and bottling wines at the end of the 19th century. On the death of his grandfather in 1929, his father Mario took over the family business. 1929 also marked the start of the Great Depression and Mario decided to abandon bottling, to purchase the grapes and to sell wine in bulk. Bruno, age 16, began to work with his father at the end of the Second World War, travelling around the Langhe and learning to select the grapes and the art of negotiation. In the cantina, as he was not allowed to drink or taste wine, he learnt to use and rely on his nose, asserting that, while it is important to taste many different wines, learning to use your nose is equally important as this makes it possible to understand whether a wine is clean or dirty, able to age well, whether it deserves a great label, whether it should be aged before bottling or sold immediately.

In the 1950s, when the first signs of economy recovery stimulated renewed interest for quality wines, Bruno, 31 at that time, took over the family business, officially establishing the Bruno Giacosa winery in 1960 for the production of only quality wines. Giacosa started to purchase the best grapes of the best vineyards of the Langhe. In 1960, he labelled the first 20,000 bottles of different wines produced previously and preserved. The first label with his name dates back to 1957.
His wines epitomize the importance of site selection, as stressed by the French and as confirmed by their longevity. Veronelli, complaining that each time he tasted his wines they were without a name, urged him to indicate the cru on the label. In 1961, he used the term Special Reserve for the first time in the label of his Barbaresco to indicate a particularly fortunate vintage. In 1967, in addition to the name of the wine, the name of the single vineyard from where the grapes were sourced was also indicated on the label: Barbaresco Asili and Barolo Collina Rionda followed in 1968 by Barbaresco Santo Stefano.
With the passing of time, it became increasingly difficult to find grapes of the quality required. Finally, in 1980, Giacosa succeeded in purchasing a large vineyard at Serralunga, 13 hectares dedicated to the Falletto cru. A vineyard that was to bring him great emotions and great results. To locate a beautiful vineyard for sale in the zone of Barbaresco, he was forced to wait until 1996 when he purchased more than 5 hectares on the Asili hillside. The years passed but Bruno’s idea was always the same: whether a wine is good or not is determined in the vineyard because there’s not much you can do in the cellar and, if the grapes are not sound, you can never create a great wine. The wine must be good and that used to produce Nebbiolo must be able to improve and age for many years as naturally as possible. He does not add yeasts to his wines and the grapes are treated as little as possible, all fer mentation processes are activated spontaneously with the natural yeasts found in the vineyards and in the cellar. Giacosa did not become involved in the debate between innovators and traditionalists sparked in the 1980 and 1990s and has demonstrated over the years that he is closely tied to the more classical expression of Nebbiolo as he is convinced that it does not require addition of extraneous elements. He has never stored his wines in barriques, only in the traditional botti grandi that age wines slowly and is the ideal method to obtain wines that fully respect the personality of the grapes and which can be aged in bottles for more than thirty years. Round wines, still fragrant, mature but not old. His wines are similar to those he prefers to drink, simple but satisfying, fruity, honest and always more important than the food. This is the secret of his success.

Today, we can say that Giacosa has been a great traditionalist but also extremely modern. Our contemporary concept of natural, organic, biodynamic wine that reflects the terroir and the cycles of nature is a model that Giacosa has always pursued, with results that can be verified more than 30 years later. With the passing of time, the Langhe have increasingly become a place where quality is produced and are considered one of the best wine-growing areas of the planet. The wines of Piedmont have finally achieved the fame that Giacosa has always desired and, thanks to his contribution, the image of Barolo and Barbaresco wines has spread all over the world.

By Luisa Bianconi