Eugenio Bocchino and Cinzia Pelazza cultivate 5.5 hectares of vineyards in La Morra, in the heart of the Barolo region. Some of these were once owned by Cinzia's grandfather, while others have been added over the course of her 20-year career as winemakers. Similar to the small-scale structure of Burgundy, single vineyards are also rigorously vinified in Barolo, although the hierarchy of the vineyards is much more democratically organized. There are no Grand and Premier Crus here, but centuries of experience have nevertheless crystallised subtle differences between the villages, the individual sites, the exposures and their reputations.  

NEBBIOLO WORLDS  

Eugenio and Cinzia vinify 95% Nebbiolo, the great variety of the region. The most famous of their crus is the La Serra vineyard. They own old and young vineyard blocks there, which they vinify separately and only bring together shortly before bottling. Intensity and power take centre stage in La Serra. A second Barolo does without the vineyard designation and instead bears the name of their daughter Lu. Here, the structure is tighter, with ageing taking place in larger oak barrels and for a year in cement. Power is replaced here by elegance, intensity by subtlety. The third great Nebbiolo is not a Barolo, as the La Perucca vineyard is located exactly between Barolo and Barbaresco, but outside of the two sacred Nebbiolo zones. 

La Perucca is less sandy than the other six parcels of the two. Its soil consists mainly of clay and limestone. A fourth Nebbiolo, the Roccabella, is elegant, purist and straightforward, finely knit and delicate and forms an impressive introduction to Eugenio's and Cinzia's Nebbiolo worlds. 

5% of the vineyard area belongs to Barbera, which Eugenio and Cinzia cultivate and vinify with the same meticulousness as their Nebbiolos. 

After conventional beginnings, the two first switched to organic farming and then to biodynamic farming in 2010. They are members of Nicolas Joly's Renaissance de Terroir group and the natural wine movement ViniVeri. In the vineyard, they are constantly endeavouring to reduce sulphur and copper as much as possible. To achieve this, Eugenio also experiments with various preparations and oils. The wines are fermented spontaneously in the cellar and matured mainly in large wooden barrels. There is no filtering or fining and, with the exception of a little sulphur, the two do not use additives of any kind.

ps: A few years ago, Cinzia and Eugenio gave in to their passion for Sardinia and its wine and acquired three hectares of vineyards in Gallura, where they vinify Vermentino using the same principles as in Barolo.