Tenuta Grillo

Guido Zampaglione's wines open chapters in the history of Basso Monferrato that may have been written many decades ago. Compact and often stubborn, they willingly resist conjured aromatic varietal characteristics, instead letting the region and its traditions speak through earthy, meaty, and herbaceous notes.

Originally from Campania, Guido Zampaglione returns there every few weeks—or whenever he feels his vineyard needs him, from which he produces Montemattino, one of the country's best Fiano wines. The rest of his time is spent eight hours away by car in Basso Monferrato, where he manages Tenuta Grillo and produces a quartet of wines that evoke sensory images of a bygone Piedmont: robust, densely woven, and powerful interpretations, far removed from the infantile and overly soft wines that have proliferated even in the traditionally rustic South Piedmont in recent decades.

The Early Years

Guido's father also made wine but mostly drank it himself or with friends, as wheat was his main business. His mother's family, however, actually produced wine. There, Guido learned how not to do things, though he believes this was as important as his apprenticeship at La Stoppa, Elena Pantaleoni's cult winery in the hills south of Piacenza. His time with her and Giulio Armani, the cellar master and now owner of Azienda Denavolo, opened new worlds for him and shaped his approach in both the vineyard and the cellar.

As early as 2003, in the first year of Tenuta Grillo, he converted the conventionally farmed vineyards he had acquired to organic management and meticulously familiarized himself with his surroundings, vines, and soils. A total of 17 sandy, highly calcareous hectares located on a plateau, mostly planted with Barbera, Dolcetto, Freisa, and Cortese, the classic varieties of Monferrato (then and now).

Playing with the Skins

Guido harvests his grapes late, with low yields, and what goes into the cellar is flawless and ripe. It should be, because what happens next requires the best possible material. He macerates his grapes, both red and white, without temperature control and for at least 30 days, sometimes even a few weeks longer. He has pursued this extreme but ultimately regionally traditional approach for 15 years now, firmly convinced. On one hand, he wants to extract the essence from the grapes, which, in his opinion, resides in the skins. On the other hand, a long maceration period provides natural oxidation protection and thus a perfect foundation for non-invasive vinification.

After pressing, the wines are transferred to large wooden barrels and remain there on the fine lees for years before being bottled and further aged in the bottle over a period of two to ten years.

Guido Zampaglione's wines open chapters in the history of Basso Monferrato that may have been written many decades ago. Compact and often stubborn, they willingly resist conjured aromatic varietal characteristics, instead letting the region and its traditions speak through earthy, meaty, and herbaceous notes.

P.S.: These last sentences can be directly applied to the situation around Avellino in Campania—there too, Guido Zampaglione delivers dynamic, refreshing, and authentic alternatives to the often acclaimed but characterless and arbitrary Fianos with Montemattino and Sancho Panza (he was previously responsible for the legendary Don Chisciotte together with his uncle). Their immense potential is often embellished in high-tech cellars, only to be sulfured and filtered away.