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A Visit to Michele Chiarlo Vineyards and Winery

This was the first winery stop on our most recent trip to Italy. We were drawn here because our most favorite and excellent dessert wine is Michele Chiarlo’s Nivole, Muscato d’Asti. Our kids have called it ‘liquid Heaven’.

This collage was created from Michele Chiarlo wine labels

“La Court is the perfect symbiosis between nature, the landscape and the efforts of man”

Our trip started with a visit to the Monferrato-area vineyards to see where the Barbera grapes are grown, and we then followed up with a wine tasting at Chiarlo’s winery.

So, where are we actually? We are in northern Italy in the region called Piemonte (Piedmont in English for some reason). Within the region of Piemonte is the Barolo area south of Alba, where Nebbiolo grapes are grown for Barolo. But right now, we are in the northeastern area known for the Barbera grape used in, non-other-than, Barbera wines. As we are close to the town of Asti, the Barbera wine produced here is known as Barbera d’Asti…and there are some other Barbera wine names associated here, too, as I’ll explain below.

The actors in this 3-act play are: my lovely wife, Ellen; sister- and brother-in-law Leslie and Craig Johnson, who are wonderful travel companions; and of course, me. And, there is a guest appearance by none other than Alberto, our host for the day.

Act One: The Vineyard of La Court

In this photo, you see the beautiful vineyards of La Court.

The copse of cypress dead-center in the photo were planted in the mid-1800s and are the symbol of the La Court vineyards. I use the term vineyards, instead of the singular vineyard, as there are eight different vineyard plots seen situated around the farmhouse at the upper-left of the photo. Each of the eight is planted in Barbera grape vines, but the grapes grown in the various vineyards are each handled and vinified differently to produce four different DCOG wines.

[I’ll cover what DCOG means in another article, but for today’s purpose, it means that the vineyards used in the four wines must face this direction or that, must have a certain slope, maximum production per acre, etc — all to protect the name and reputation of a particular Italian wine type, which in this case is Barbera d’Asti…think of a government-sponsored Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval…that does still exist, doesn’t it?]

For our visit, Alberto parked at the old farm house and we walked under the Le Orme archway toward that ancient copse of cypress.

You can see that the vineyard to the left of the path has recently been replanted with new vines

As we strolled, Alberto explained the layout of the vineyards and the wines produced from each of the areas that surrounded us.

Grapes in these vineyards are picked by hand, and not every cluster of grapes is worthy of being selected for harvest…like this cluster which was passed over during the previous week’s picking.

I’m kind of glad that these were of inferior quality, as we got to sample them right off the vine…and they were sweet and tasty.

At the time of our visit, workers were busy planting new vines in the northern-facing vineyard.

And that soil? Yes, it is typical of Italian vineyards in that it is high in mineral and low in organics. As their website suggests, it is called “astiane sands'’, and it consists of calcareous clay marl of sedimentary marine origin, with good presence of lime and sand, rich in microelements, in particular magnesium.”

This particular set of hillside vineyards is unique in Italy, as it is also known as the Art Park La Court. This art park is said to “celebrate the marriage of wine and art set within a landscape recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.” Besides the archway under which we started our walk, there are other works of art throughout the vineyards.

The most interesting of the art works are the helmeted “wine row pole heads” found at the end of many of the rows of vines. Here are a smattering of these artistic accouterments, each decorated with a different species of animalia. As always, if you click on a thumbnail image, you will get a larger view.

The surrounding countryside is as picturesque as you would want as you visit an Italian vineyard.

Here is the bark of a 170-year old Italian cypress

The old farmhouse is a picturesque fixer-upper that I found to be artistically endearing. Here is my digitally-painted rendering

Act Two: The Winery

Michele Chiarlo’s Barbera winery is situated in the town of Calamandrana.

This is the winery where the Barbera grapes are vinified into the various Barbera-related wines produced by Michele Chiarlo.

We are now about 4 miles from the La Court vineyards where we learned of the land where the Barbera grapes are grown.

We drove by this sign three times before seeing and saying, “Oh, there it is!”.

Alberto took us through the wine-making process where grapes are pressed for their juice and then undergo fermentation in these stainless-steel tanks.

After fermentation, the wines are aged in barrels…some large and some small.

The barrel just below holds a Nizza wine. It will age in this barrel for 18 months. But a Nizza Riserva will barrel-age for 30 months.

The wording on the white label of ‘Atto a Nizza’ translates as ‘Nice Act’ in English

Though the wine making is an ancient art, the bottling is strictly modern, as you can see below.

And the wine that is being bottled at this moment? Why, it’s the Barbera d’Asti made with grapes from the just-visited Le Orme vineyards that we visited just moments before…and that we will be sampling in just a moment.

Act Three: The Tasting

I have to admit that this is my favorite part of a winery visit…the tasting.

Here is the tasting room, with the full line-up of wines that Michele Chiarlo produces.

Leslie is attentive to Alberto as he explains the intricacies of the wines, but I’m busy tasting this nice, white Arneis…and look at those lovely legs left on the glass because of the viscosity of the wine. This is the day that we fell in love with Arneis, as mentioned in a previous article here.

Also, we were able to taste the La Court Nizza Riserva, which had its grapes grown a the La Court vineyards just visited.

Though Nizza is made from the Barbera grape which, in this case, comes from vines planted in 1976, the overall vinification methods of this Nizza wine started recently in 2014. So it is a relatively new type of Barbera wine.

At the 50 acres we visited earlier in the day, only 7 acres are dedicated to the growing of the grapes destined for Nizza.

They recommend drinking Nizza with agnolotti with a wild rabbit sauce, tagliolini with porcini, roasted veal, or well-matured cheeses. It’s been awhile since we whipped up a wild rabbit sauce (like, never), so I would drink this with just about any Italian pasta. I mean, why not…right?

The next tasting was Le Orme, Barbera d’Asti. This is the wine which we had just observed being bottled.

This wine is readily available in the US market and we’ve had it at numerous restaurants.

The wine has been aged for 16 months, or “16 mesi” in Italian.

The color is ruby red with hues of violet. It is described as “elegant and intense, with notes of fresh mature red fruit, such as cherry and currant.” To me, it tastes like a nice red wine.

In case you want to be told what to drink this with, they suggest “Pasta with tomato, pizza, Livorno style fish, and white meat”. I’ll have a glass with my pizza, please.

At some point above, I suggested that one of the reasons we visited Michele Chiarlo was our familiarity with their dessert wine, Nivole.

Nivole is a Moscato d’Asti wine…meaning it comes from the white muscato grape and is from the Asti area of Piemonte. Asti is the number one place for the production of moscato-based dessert wines. And, Michele Chiarlo’s Nivole is recognized as the very best of the moscatos.

This wine has a brilliant straw color. After pressing the grape, the must is stored in a tank at 28°F and is followed by slow fermentation in an autoclave at a controlled temperature until the alcohol content is right at 5%. During this process, a part of the carbon dioxide developed during fermentation remains “entrapped”, giving the wine its mild, natural effervescence. Before bottling, it then undergoes a process of micro-filtration to give the wine its clarity, purity and stop any further fermentation of the yeasts. Many Moscato d’Asti wines are almost as effervescent as a prosecco, but Nivole’s bubbles are pleasantly subtle.

I’m not much on ferreting out notes of floral, tobacco, certain minerals and such in red wines, but I’m definitely into the velvety, apricot-like taste of Nivole.

Here is something that encouraged us to bring back several bottles of Nivole. In the USA, a 375ml bottle (half of a typical bottle of wine) costs almost $20. At Michele Chiarlo’s wine shop, a full size, 750ml bottle costs just over $10. And, being a sweet white wine, it keeps a good while in your refrigerator with the top screwed on.

The white muscat grapes for Nivole are grown up near Asti, and the lay of the land is very much different than that at La Court. In the photo below, you can see the vineyards for Michele Chiarlo’s Nivole, Moscato d’Asti. Just gorgeous, isn’t it?!

Michele Chiarlo Winery

I know that you didn’t enjoy our visit to Michele Chiarlo as much as we did, and I’m very sorry about that. But amends can be made. Just go there for a visit yourself! I know you will enjoy it. And say ‘Hello’ to Alberto from the Johnsons and the Burketts.

Ciao for now,

Steve

p.s. Feel free to leave comments below!

Renato Ratti Winery

Index of Articles

‘The King of Wines’: that’s the title bestowed on the Barolo wines of the Langhe region of northern Italy. And Renato Ratti’s Barolo is the culmination of decades of this royal lineage. We experienced the charm of Renato Ratti during the fall of 2018.

The Langhe is a beautiful area of the Piemonte, or ‘foot hills’ (Piedmont in English…and why do we change place names like that, by the way?).

The view like this one from the Renato Ratti winery is breathtaking, and it is typical of the views within the Langhe.

Click any image for a larger view

“Our recommendation? Go to the Renato Ratti winery to experience the Barolo wine-making process. Visit their beautiful facility with one of their informed hosts. Then opt for the higher-end wine tasting that will find you sampling several vintage Barolo wines.”

The Grape

The predominant grape of the Langhe is the Nebbiolo grape, seen here growing on the hillside vineyard of Renato Ratti.

This beautiful grape gives Barolo wines its body and rich color. And by the way, it is also the grape of the Barbaresco wines of the Piemonte, though the Nebbiolo grape for Barbaresco is grown a few miles away in a different micro-climate and in significantly different soils.

The Founder

Renato Ratti is the founder of this fine winery. After spending his younger years learning the art of wine making in Brazil, he returned to his native Italy in 1965 to begin his legendary journey in the vinification of Barolo wine. On the hillside immediately above the current winery lies the Abbey of L'Annunziata. It is in this 14th Century abandoned abbey that he created his first vintage of Barolo.

This is the man, himself — Renato Ratti. Doesn’t he look like a man you would have liked to have called ‘a friend’? And not just because of that large bottle of Barolo he is holding!

Renato Ratti came into the wine business with what to me seems like a bit of an edge…he had no family history of wine making…he had no regimented tradition that, though historical, may have been flawed, or non-productive. It’s best said in his own words: “I came to the world of winemaking without a family tradition behind me. I believe that this opening admission is necessary, for being free of any ancestral ties or responsibilities, I was able to face Barolo with neither pride nor prejudice, but with unfettered freedom.” Unfettered freedom…I like that aspect of his learning process.

Sadly, Renato passed away in 1988 at the young age of 54. Fortunately for the wine industry, his son Pietro had recently graduated from nearby Alba's renowned Enological School. Pietro took charge of the company and has guided it into the 21st century, including construction of the modern, new winery in 2002.

The Locale

A visit to Renato Ratti winery is special in many ways — from the greeting, the creative introductory video, the unique gravity-inspired winery, and of course, the tasting of Renato Ratti’s fabulous wines.

The winery sits on a hillside below the town of La Morra, the dominant town of the Barolo wine region.

In the aerial view below, you can see one of the aspects that makes Renato Ratti winery so unique. It is difficult to see the footprint of the winery (bounded in red) because of the vegetation-covered ‘green’ roof. This winery is vertically oriented, rather than being spread out over acres.

The original location of the winery in the 14th-century Abbey of L'Annunziata is bounded in blue.

The fact that the winery sits on the slope of a hillside leads us to the other unique aspect of this winery. The slope of the hillside allows the flow of gravity to work for Renato Ratti, eliminating the need for needlessly agitating the wine through pumping during the vinification process.

Here you can see from the elevator panel that there are a total of 5 floors in the winery.

And thick concrete walls hold back the hillside in the subterranean levels of the winery.

And the soil that produces the Nebbiolo grape variety? Beautiful! Really?

I must say that, like a baby that only its mother would call beautiful, the soil is beautiful only to a vintner. In this photo from the Renato Ratti winery’s web site, you can see the calcareous soil responsible for the growing of the Nebbiolo grapes that produce such a fine wine — very little organic, lots of mineral. Molto perfetto!

Our Visit

Upon our arrival, we found this modern facility for the production of Barolo wine. Note the green roof. And the beautiful countryside of the Langhe.

Barolo is not the only wine vinified by Renato Ratti - here are some of the wines, and a grappa, that are produced by Renato Ratti. Click on an image for a larger view.

Behind this wall of wooden wine boxes sit the staff of Renato Ratti winery, busily filling orders for their wonderful selection of wines.

After being greeted by our beautiful host for the tour, Christine, she directed us to a video that blew our minds!

This video was prepared by Pietro, himself. It is the most creative and informative video we have ever seen that explains the history and origins of a wine production area. If you are at all interested in Italian wine, you will be well rewarded if you click on the video thumbnail to view Pietro’s hand-crafted masterpiece.

Our tour quickly moved to the vinification floors.

As we were in Italy at harvest time, the grape-handling process was in full swing. Here is where grapes are fed into presses for extraction of their juice.

After grapes are destemmed and crushed, they undergo a thermo-controlled fermentation in the steel vats.

Malolactic fermentation in November is then accomplished in oak barrels.

An elevator takes us below the fermentation tanks to the aging barrels.

Here Craig, Leslie, my wife Ellen and I learned about Renato Ratti’s wine production process from our host, Christine.

A soon-to-be-delicious Barolo Marcenasco waits its turn to be bottled after 2 years of aging. But wait…don’t drink it right away…this fine wine can wait for you for over 20 years. We soon learned the benefits of letting the wine age in your home cellar, so read on.

In this deep, dark cellar, we saw bottles awaiting their fill, as well as the Ratti’s own private reserve of bottled wines.

The Tasting

As Craig soon found out, like all of the other aspects of the Renato Ratti winery, the tasting room was gorgeous.

Besides wanting to know how Barolo wine tastes, we also wanted to know how aging of wine affects the enjoyment of red wines. We opted to purchase the Exclusive Tasting. This allowed us to experience the impacts of progressively-aged vintages of the Renato Ratti Barolos.

WARNING: Don’t try to enjoy a vintage wine-tasting experience with a stuffy nose! There is a lot of sniffing required to fully enjoy the experience!

Christine was a wonderful host — she is knowledgeable and willing to answer all of our questions.

[NOTE: The Coravin device that Christine is using allows one to sample wine from a bottle without removing the cork; thus preserving the wine from destruction through oxidation. We have been able to sample 30-year old wine using this excellent device. See a full Coravin description here.]

Seen here are the wines we tasted. Christine gave us an excellent interpretation of each of these wines. We started with the Nebbiolo, as a representation of a young wine that only ages for about one year before release. Then we worked our way across with Barolos from 2014, 2013, 2004 and finally, a 20-year old 1998.

What did we learn from this tasting?

First, we learned that a Barolo, being a full-flavored and full-bodied wine, should be aged in your cellar before being uncorked. It is best to drink between 6 to 12 years after the vintage. As we learned upon tasting each vintage, the flavor comes out as the tannin drops over time. The tannin of the younger Barolo wines will suck the moisture right out of your mouth...your lips kind of get stuck to your teeth. As the tannin drops, the elegant flavor of the wine becomes more evident.

Second, we learned that the color changes significantly over time: moving from the typical garnet red in the younger wines, to a not-off-putting orangy-brown in the later vintages. Don’t take the color change as a flaw…consider it a feature.

The Labels

We were intrigued by the labels on some of the non-Barolo wines that Renato Ratti winery produces. You will note that there are uniformed militia featured on six of the labels.

Ratti’s research into the history of the Barolo area revealed that each of the hill towns put together a uniformed militia to combat invading armies, like Napoleon’s. Matching the geography of these hill towns to the location of vineyards supplying grapes for their wines, the Rattis developed the labels for the regionally-associated wines.

In this example, the militiaman of 1775 served in the Asti regiment, about 20 miles northeast of the Renato Ratti winery.

Our Recommendation

Go to the Renato Ratti winery to experience the Barolo wine-making process.

Visit their beautiful facility with one of their informed hosts.

Then opt for the higher-end educational wine tasting that will find you sampling several vintage Barolo wines. You will not be disappointed.

Here is a closing photo from our wonderful time at the Renato Ratti winery. In the photo, from left to right are: my wife Ellen, our host Christine, brother- and sister-in-law Craig & Leslie, myself, and the driving force behind the Renato Ratti winery, Pietro Ratti.

We were pleased that Pietro, when we mentioned that we were from the Denver area, immediately offered, “Ahh, the Barolo Grill!”. He knows it well, as it has been a stop in the annual take-your-employees-to-Italy trip that Barolo Grill conducts. Wouldn’t a place that takes the staff to Italy each year be a wonderful place to work?! It certainly is a wonderful place to eat!

Renato Ratti Winery

Coravin Wine Preservation System

Barolo Grill Restaurant in Denver

I hope you enjoyed our wonderful time spent at the Renato Ratti Winery in the Langhe region of Piemonte, Italy. If we run into you there upon our next visit, I’ll buy you a bottle of wonderful Barolo wine! Otherwise, Renato Ratti wines are readily available at restaurants and wine shops in the U.S.

Ciao for now,

Steve