The Producer
Founded in 1870 by Filippo Cappellano, a pioneer for winemaking in the region, Cappellano is one of the oldest and most well respected producers in the Barolo denomination. Since their earliest days, Cappellano has been both a grape grower and wine producer. Although common practice today, during that time, most were either exclusively grape growers or wine producers, and it was extraordinarily rare to do both. When Filippo passed away, his son Giovanni, an enologist, continued his father’s work, and under his direction Cappellano went on to win several medals at international wine competitions. Giovanni passed away from a tropical fever in 1912 in Tunisia, where he’d been searching for phylloxera-resistant vines. Giovanni’s brother, Giuseppe, a pharmacist, took over the estate after his brother’s passing, and is responsible for inventing Barolo Chinato, a fortified wine made by infusing Barolo wine with herbs and spices. When Giuseppe passed in 1955 the firm’s large holdings were divided up amongst his extended family and eventually sold off. In the late 1960s, Giuseppe’s nephew, Teobaldo Cappellano, revived the estate, but had to start from scratch. Teobaldo, or “Baldo” as many knew him by, purchased grapes from trusted growers, and vinified them in different cellars, as all of Cappellano’s vineyards and cellars had been sold. He even once used the Serralunga castle’s historic cellars for one of his first vintages until he’d saved enough to eventually purchase a cellar of his own. In the 1980s, Teobaldo purchased a small 5 acre section of vines in the prized Gabutti cru in Serralunga from a grape grower named Otin Fiorin. Thanks to Teobaldo’s affable personality, Otin sold to Teobaldo despite other estates who’d offered him far more money, and for this, Teobaldo named his Barolo’s after Otin.
Cappellano produces just 2 Barolos, “Barolo Otin Fiorin Piè Rupestris” and “Barolo Otin Fiorin Piè Franco”. The latter is made exclusively from ungrafted Nebbiolo vines, and therefore is unlike any other Barolo currently produced. Teobaldo planted ungrafted Nebbiolo in 1989 in a section of the Gabutti cru to produce a Barolo the same way that Barolo had been made in the old days, prior to phylloxera. This bold and courageous decision has yielded an astonishing wine with incredible complexity, and the vines thankfully are alive and well. Teobaldo believed in producing high quality wines, and believed that in order to do so winemakers need to farm in harmony with nature, and make responsible decisions in regard to protecting the environment. He defended his stance on these issues tirelessly, and was an active participant of the Consorzio del Barolo e Barbaresco, President of Enoteca Regionale del Barolo, and was the President and one of the founding members of Vini Veri (True Wines). In 1983, Teobaldo asked that journalists not publish scores of his wines. He believed in writing about wine, even if the writer didn’t enjoy his wine, but felt that a wine should not be reduced to a numerical value or included in any type of similar classification. During this time he stopped inviting journalists to his cellar to taste who would not abide by his request. However, thankfully, to this day most writers have respected Teobaldo’s wishes with the exception of Robert Parker, who scored Cappellano’s 1989-1998 wines between 87-90 points, and 1997 Piè Franco 83 points. It’s important to note that Parker, and many other well known wine writers of this time, favored wines of extreme power, often accompanied by loads of fruit, and evident oak sensations. His palate and the palate of many other writers during this era overlooked, or even penalized, wines like Cappellano’s, which are more about finesse and elegance. Thankfully, for the most part, things have changed drastically in the world of wine, and most would agree that Cappellano’s wines are consistently some of the greatest wines to be produced in the denomination, and some would argue in all of Italy or even the world.
Today, Cappellano is run by Teobaldo’s son, Augusto, the fifth generation winemaker in his family, who took over in 2009 after Teobaldo’s unexpected passing. Augusto continues to carry out his family’s legacy, producing wines of exceptional quality, with a hands-off approach, and respect for the land. All farming is done with organic methods, minimal copper and sulfur treatments, and never any pesticides. In the cellar, spontaneous fermentation is carried out in wooden vats without temperature control, and wines are unfiltered.
Piè Franco
In addition to the information mentioned above, it should be noted that Piè Franco is produced in minuscule quantities, less than 2,000 bottles per year on average. This is likely because the ungrafted vines are extremely unproductive and produce far fewer grapes than their grafted counterparts. In addition to this, only a small section of the Gabutti cru is dedicated to these vines, when they were initially planted there were doubts over whether or not they would survive. There are different theories regarding the meaning surrounding the name Piè Franco, but from what we’ve gathered the most accurate appears to be, Piè Franco, translates to “free foot”, a reference to the vines which are ungrafted.
Technical Info
Vineyard Site: Gabutti Comune: Serralunga d’Alba Province: Cuneo Region: Piedmont Altitude: 300-350 meters above sea level Sun Exposure: South Varietal Composition: 100% Nebbiolo Vine Age: Planted in 1989 Vinification: Spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts in wooden vats, without temperature control, long fermentation Aging: Long aging in large old botte. Wines are bottled unfiltered. Total Production: Less than 2,000 bottles per year on average First Vintage Produced: 1994
Tasting Notes
Appearance: Ruby red
Aromas: An abundance of classic Nebbiolo tar and roses, along with forest floor, crushed cherries and pomegranates. Incredibly elegant, yet extremely expressive at the same time.
Palate: Aromas carry directly over to the palate without missing a beat, along with flavors of raspberries and licorice. Bright, vibrant acidity, with ultra fine, smooth tannins that are unbelievably silky and so amazingly well integrated. Impressive structure, especially on a wine that’s so refined. This is a delicate, and incredibly elegant Barolo, that’s very approachable and enjoyable today, but will likely develop complexity over the next 10 years or so, and reward those who wait. Extremely persistent finish.
Notes: An incredible wine in every way possible. Of all the Barolo that we’ve had over the years, this is unlike anything else that we’ve tried. At times while tasting the wine, it almost tasted as though it were older than it actually was, in a good way, not in a bad way. We say this because the tannins were so perfectly integrated, and the wine was so well balanced, like that of a mature Barolo, yet the wine was still so young, with so much fruit, and obviously there were no oxidative qualities. We consider ourselves extremely fortunate to have tasted this legendary wine, especially given its miniscule production, and how notoriously difficult it can be to find. This really was a once in a lifetime experience for us. Thank you, Locanda dell’Arco for sharing this incredible wine with us. Your restaurant is unlike any other place in the world, and we can’t wait to come back and visit you soon.
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