Wine of the Week 4/20/21

Rocche Costamagna Barbera d’Alba 2018
Regularly $17.99/On Sale for $14.96

After the downfall of Napoleon I and the Congress of Vienna, many officers of the French army moved into the Langhe. They built several fortified buildings in the area on the model of French fortresses. The winery of Rocche Costamagna was built around 1814-1815 and still preserves its original long, narrow structure. The vaults and thick wet walls of bricks and local stone are a backdrop to the ranks of Slavonian oak casks in which wines are aged, all in rooms that have the ideal temperature and humidity conditions for storage.

On May 15, 1841, the Police Bureau of the Royal Military Command of the city and province of Alba in Piemonte granted to Luigi Costamagna the permission "for the trade of wine […] produced by the grapes of his vineyards " in La Morra. In 1911, Francesco and his son Riccardo won the Gold Medal at the Grand Prix of the Turin International Exposition for having featured fifty years of uninterrupted production. 

 At the death of Francesco, Ricciardo, now a lawyer practicing in Turino and Alba, and his wife Maddalena took over the management of the winery.  In the 1930s, after the death of Riccardo, the family cultivated the grapes for the family's needs, and everything else was sold.

At the end of the 1960s, the Claudia Ferraresi, the granddaughter of Ricciardo and Maddalena, together with her husband, Giorgio Locatelli, took over the reins of the family company, and brought it to where it is today. Claudia was a talented and fantastic painter as well as being a wine entrepreneur. 

Since the mid-1980s, Alessandro Locatelli, the son of Claudia and Giorgio, is in charge. Alessandro takes his place as the steward of his family’s entity and all their traditions seriously, yet he tirelessly works to bring his winery and estate to today’s standards.  He and his staff avoid the use of pesticides and herbicides, using alternative solutions for the care of the vineyard without stressing or forcing the rhythms of nature.

The Rocche (rocche refers to the highest part of a hill) Costamagna is a classic Barbera that has scents of tart cherry and other, darker fruits, and is fresh and enjoyable on the palate. We have sold the Rocche Costamagna Nebbiolo for years now, and it is a customer favorite. Treat yourself to the equally good Barbera at very rare discount!