Vintus

Luciano Sandrone is one of the leading producers in Barolo.  His story is well known: after years of work as a cellarman he purchased his first vineyard on the Cannubi hill. Since their first harvest in 1978, Luciano and his brother Luca have devoted tremendous efforts towards cultivating the finest fruit in their vineyards, which now cover 63 acres in the best parts of Langa and Roero, and to taking extraordinary care in the cellar.

Sandrone’s Barolos are sometimes described as straddling the modern and traditional styles in the region: elegant, attractive and easy to appreciate right from their first years in bottle, but with no less power and structure than traditional Barolos.  Along with the extremely low yields in the vineyard, Sandrone has a very rational approach in the cellar.  This approach, however, is also unique and outside of simple classification, as Sandrone subjects his wines to a relatively short maceration period, does not use rotary fermenters, and makes limited use of new oak in the maturation process, all signs of a traditional approach in the cellar.

The new winery, built in 1998 at the foot of the steep Cannubi hillside in the heart of the Barolo district, is characterized by the respect for tradition and desire for innovation that also define Sandrone wines.

“Extraordinary producers of Barolo, Luciano Sandrone and his wife worked at Marchesi di Barolo before acquiring a tiny plot of land outside their native village of Barolo in 1977.  Theirs quickly became a cult wine, first with their 1982 and 1985 vintages.  Then they made a wine that merited one of the first perfect scores I ever gave a Barolo, the 1990.  There is attention to detail in the vineyard and in the winery at every level, and the results are wines that are hybrid creations, paying respect to both progressives and traditionalists.” Robert Parker, The World’s Greatest Wine Estates

“Luciano Sandrone is one of the leading lights in Piedmont.  No grower has managed to so brilliantly reconcile modern and traditional approaches in making wines that are soft, supple and approachable when young, but also capable of aging beautifully.” Antonio Galloni, Wine Advocate, November 2007