Winery of the Month Series: Francesco Brigatti
Francesco Brigatti
Yes, just in time to coincide with our tasting with the man himself today, November 1st, we're making all of the Brigatti wines 10% off all month long.
Colline Novaresi
The Region:
The Colline Novaresi is a relatively young DOC, being officially recognized in 1994, just about the time that Francesco Brigatti was finishing high school and releasing his first vintage. The region takes its name from the town of Novara, located some 20 miles west of Milan in northwestern Piedmont. The specialty here is Nebbiolo, but it's known locally as Spanna.
The other grapes commonly found here are Barbera, Vespolina, Uva Rara (also called Bonarda Novaresi) and Erbaluce in this DOC made up of just some 196 hectares.
Within the DOC, any wine that specifies a single varietal on the label must be made with a minimum of 85% of the varietal, and vines must be grown at a minimum elevation of 500 feet, and a maximum of 1,805 feet.
The Winery
Azienda Agricola Francesco Brigatti
Francesco lives in the town of Suno, a town more well known for its fantastic farmland for corn and other more vegetarian fare, so it was to his grandmother's chagrin when Francesco's grandfather sold off all of his crops in hopes of pursing wine making full time.
Both Francesco's grandfather and his father spent their years making small amounts of wine for the nearby towns, but mostly selling their grapes to other nearby wineries while they got their footing in the winemaking world.
Francesco took over in 1996, as he graduated high school and went to college in nearby Turin, and made the important decision to only farm vineyards and make wines following biological practices and to focus almost exclusively on monovarietal wines (save a blend that was passed down from his grandfather).
Brigatti has just 6 hectares of vineyards distinguished by two very different hills. Motziflon takes its name from the local dialect meaning little hill with bird song and Motfrei, which means little hill with mushrooms. Although only about half a mile away from each other, his two principle hills have very different composition. Motziflon is a mixture of sand and clay home to mostly Erbaluce and Vespolina, along with some Nebbiolo, Uva Rara, and a few rows of Barbera. Around the corner is Motfrei which is mostly red sand along with clay capable of producing some of the finest wines in Piemonte.
The one wine that Brigatti doesn't make with just one varietal is his homage to his grandfathers wine, named after the hill it was grown on. Montflizon is a blend of 85 % Spanna, 10% Vespolina, and 5% Uva Rara, made in the exact same way his grandfather had for decades.
The other special bottle, a single vineyard Ghemme, which is made up of 100% Spanna, sourced from a vineyard originally tended to by his grandfather, and owned by a close friend. In return for taking care of the vineyard, Francesco is able to make this single vineyard bottling that really shows the beauty this region is capable of.
We’re super excited to get to introduce Francesco to y’all in the flesh and we hope you can make it to the tasting, but if you can’t we’ll be featuring these wines at a discount all month!
Mottobello - $̶2̶1̶.̶9̶9̶ $19.79
100% Erbaluce Thanks to vineyard sites that are dense with minerals (Potassium and Magnesium specifically), the wine has a zesty, almost lime-aid energy to it, while also have plenty of round texture relative to many other Erbaluce. As it opens up, hints of flowers and citrus turn to herbs and stone fruit.
Maria - $̶2̶4̶.̶9̶9̶ $22.49
100% Vespolina. Vespolina is Alto Piemonte’s best kept secret. Most producers use oak to round out the tannin but Brigatti uses only stainless steel. In the end he wants the true characteristics of this varietal to show. “Maria”, named for Francesco’s daughter, has the aromatics of a lighter spicier red, but wonderful grip on the finish. In the end it opens up wonderful options as far food pairings go!
Motziflon - $̶2̶9̶.̶9̶9̶ $26.99
85% Spanna 10% Vespolina 5% Uva Rara. A classic blend of the Alto Piemonte that has all the elegance of structured Spanna with the lift of Vespolina.
Otre Il Bosco - $̶4̶9̶.̶9̶9̶ $44.99
100% Spanna. Otre Il Bosco” means beyond the forest, as Ghemme is through the woods from where Francesco’s property in Suno is located. Rose petal, small red fruit and spice, along with earthy tannins and notes of tobacco, pepper, some cooked cherry.
