Italy · Langhe

Agricola Brandini

Organic Barolo estate in La Morra at 570 metres, managed by the Bagnasco sisters, with two contrasting Nebbiolo expressions and an Alta Langa sparkling wine.

The producer

Agricola Brandini sits on the upper edge of La Morra, a Barolo commune in the Langhe hills of southern Piemonte, at around 570 metres. Most La Morra vineyards are planted lower, where calcareous marl holds warmth through the long Nebbiolo ripening season. Piero Bagnasco bought this higher site in 2007, after running Fontanafredda, the largest Barolo producer in the zone, and co-founding Eataly with Oscar Farinetti. Local growers told him the elevation was too cold and too exposed for quality Nebbiolo. He planted it anyway.

His daughters Serena and Giovanna took directional control in 2018 and have built the estate into a certified organic operation, farming the 25 hectares across La Morra, Serralunga d'Alba, Monforte, Alta Langa, and the Roero. The Barolo range splits into two deliberate contrasts: La Morra, destemmed and aged in old 60-hectoliter Slavonian oak, opens with orange peel, soft red fruit, and refined tannins; R56 uses 40 to 60 percent whole-cluster fermentation and smaller 30-hectoliter casks, pulling toward brighter red fruit, exotic purple fruits, and a harder acid line. Alta Langa Brut adds a traditional method sparkling wine from the estate's high-elevation parcels, built on hazelnut, candied orange peel, almond, and fine persistent bubbles.

Known for

Barolo La Morra and Barolo R56

Notable facts

The story

The Site No One Wanted

When Piero Bagnasco walked the Brandini hillside for the first time in 2007, he had already run Fontanafredda, the largest Barolo estate in the zone, and had co-founded Eataly with Oscar Farinetti the year before. The growers he spoke to in La Morra told him the same thing: the site was too high, too cold, too exposed to alpine air from the north. Barolo was planted lower, where the afternoon sun held its warmth into October and the calcareous marl pushed Nebbiolo toward ripeness on schedule. At 570 metres, the site sat above the established planting limit. Bagnasco bought it. Seventeen years later, his daughters Serena and Giovanna manage the same parcels, and the estate produces two Barolo cuvées from vines that most of their neighbours told their father to leave alone.

From the atlas

Agricola Brandini

At A Glance

The Producer

Agricola Brandini sits on the upper edge of La Morra, a Barolo commune in the Langhe hills of southern Piemonte, at around 570 metres. That altitude is not incidental: most La Morra vineyards are planted lower, where the calcareous marl holds warmth through the long Nebbiolo ripening season. Brandini's position, on calcareous sandstone at the commune's upper limit, was considered by many local growers to be too exposed, too cool, and too risky for serious Nebbiolo production.

Piero Bagnasco bought the estate in 2007 and planted it anyway. He had run Fontanafredda, the largest Barolo producer in the zone, and had co-founded Eataly with Oscar Farinetti in 2006. He stepped away from both to build something smaller on a site that the market had largely passed over. His daughters Serena and Giovanna took directional control in 2018 and have carried the estate forward with certified organic farming. For the family, organic certification is a philosophy applied across the whole property, not a production method layered onto conventional agriculture.

The winemaking centre is Nebbiolo in two Barolo expressions, supported by Langhe Nebbiolo, Dolcetto d'Alba, and Alta Langa sparkling.

Place

La Morra is the westernmost of the main Barolo communes, sitting on softer calcareous sandstone and marl rather than the harder Helvetian limestone that runs through Serralunga d'Alba and parts of Monforte. The soil difference has a direct consequence in the glass: calcareous sandstone releases more aromatic lift and delivers softer, more refined tannins than the iron-rich clay and compacted limestone further east. La Morra Barolo is generally more open in its first years, with fruit and floral character leading before the wine closes in on itself.

Brandini occupies the upper slope of that commune, where the exposure to alpine air from the north is real. The longer growing season at elevation means cooler nights, slower ripening, and a naturally higher acid line in the finished wine. Those conditions are demanding for Nebbiolo, which needs sufficient warmth to ripen its notoriously thick skins and firm tannin load. The calcareous sandstone underfoot helps: it drains freely, warms the vine roots earlier in spring, and contributes the aromatic and textural lift that is the La Morra signature.

Alta Langa, where the estate also holds parcels for its sparkling wine, is a separate DOCG above and beyond the Barolo zone, in the high Langhe hills south of Alba. At those altitudes, cool nights and slow ripening make the base wines for traditional method sparkling wines naturally fresh.

Soil And Site

The primary La Morra parcels sit on calcareous sandstone, which delivers earlier aromatic development, softer tannin grip, and more immediate fruit expression than the compact marl and limestone soils of Serralunga and Castiglione Falletto. At 570 metres, the Brandini vines receive more direct alpine exposure than lower-lying La Morra sites. Drainage is sharp, root depth is necessary, and yields are naturally lower at this elevation. The combination of high altitude and calcareous sandstone gives the estate's Barolo a particular character: aromatic and floral in its top register, with an acid line that stays lively through a long finish.

Story

Piero Bagnasco left two of the largest food and wine projects in Italy, Fontanafredda and Eataly, to buy a hillside that local producers had considered unsuitable. The estate began producing wine from the 2007 vintage. Serena and Giovanna grew up on the property and took the reins in 2018.

The range developed around a central question: what does Nebbiolo do at this elevation and on this soil, and how does fermentation approach change that answer. The two Barolo cuvées, La Morra and R56, came out of deliberate experimentation with destemming, whole-cluster percentages, and oak vessel size. They are not a hierarchy of quality but a deliberate contrast: two methods, two outcomes, from the same commune, the same grape, and the same farming base.

The estate is certified organic since 2011; Serena and Giovanna took directional control in 2018 and expanded biodynamic and permaculture practices.

Organic farming across all parcels means no synthetic herbicides, pesticides, or fertilisers. Biodynamic preparations support the vines throughout the growing season.

Vineyards And Cellar

The 25 estate hectares are spread across La Morra as the primary block, with additional parcels in Serralunga d'Alba, Monforte, Alta Langa, and the Roero. Organic farming across all parcels means no synthetic herbicides, pesticides, or fertilisers. Biodynamic preparations go onto the vines and soil at specific points in the growing season. Cover crops between the rows build organic matter and limit erosion on the steep Langhe slopes.

In the cellar, the two Barolo cuvées diverge at harvest. Barolo La Morra uses fully destemmed Nebbiolo, fermented naturally for two to five weeks with daily pump-overs at controlled temperatures, then aged for 20 to 24 months in old 60-hectoliter Slavonian oak casks. The large vessel and old wood give minimal oak flavour; the wine matures on its own fruit and acidity.

Barolo R56 takes a different path: 40 to 60 percent of the fruit goes in as whole clusters, with the remaining portion destemmed. Fermentation runs for three to five weeks, extracting more colour and aromatic complexity from the stems. Ageing extends to 20 to 30 months in old 30-hectoliter Slavonian oak, smaller vessels that give more surface contact without adding oak flavour. Barolo R56 displays high tones, fine lines, bright red fruit, exotic purple fruits, and floral notes.

Langhe Nebbiolo Filari Corti ferments in stainless steel with pump-overs, then spends six months in large oak and a further six or more months in bottle before release. Dolcetto d'Alba Filari Lunghi goes entirely into temperature-controlled stainless steel to lock in fresh aromatics and avoid extraction from heat.

Alta Langa Brut follows the traditional method with secondary fermentation in bottle, drawing on the naturally high acidity of the high-elevation parcels.

Wines

The range moves from approachable Dolcetto and Langhe Nebbiolo through to two contrasting Barolo expressions and a traditional method sparkling.

Dolcetto d'Alba Filari Lunghi is fermented entirely in stainless steel, with temperature control preserving fresh aromatics without extracting bitterness from the skins. It is the most immediate wine in the range: low tannin grip, fresh acidity, and fruit that stays lively without extended ageing.

Langhe Nebbiolo Filari Corti offers the first look at the estate's Nebbiolo without the weight and ageing requirement of Barolo. Stainless steel fermentation and six months in large oak keep the wine open: cherry fruit, earthy undertones, and Nebbiolo's characteristic grip without the density of the Barolo cuvées.

Barolo La Morra DOCG is destemmed Nebbiolo aged in old 60hl Slavonian oak for 20 to 24 months. The profile is aromatic and lifted: orange peel and soft red fruit lead, with citrus notes and subtle dried rose appearing as the wine opens. Tannins are refined rather than assertive. The calcareous sandstone character reads clearly through the aromatic register and the way the wine finishes with length rather than grip.

Barolo R56 DOCG uses 40 to 60 percent whole-cluster fermentation for three to five weeks, then 20 to 30 months in old 30hl Slavonian oak. The whole-cluster addition pulls the wine toward a different register: higher tones, bright red fruit, exotic purple fruits, and floral notes that extend beyond the La Morra cuvée's profile. The acid line is more pronounced and the tannins, while present, stay fine and chalky rather than broad. It is the more complex and longer-ageing of the two Barolo expressions.

Alta Langa Brut DOCG is made by the traditional method from Alta Langa parcels. Hazelnut, candied orange peel, almond, and brioche carry the nose; the mousse is fine and persistent; the finish is driven by an acid backbone that comes directly from the elevation and the cool growing season.

In The Glass

Barolo La Morra opens with orange peel, soft red fruit, and citrus, with dried rose appearing as the wine warms in the glass. On the palate, the entry is relatively generous for Nebbiolo: the calcareous sandstone character delivers aromatic lift rather than density, and the tannins arrive as refined texture rather than assertive grip. The acid line is present but integrated, keeping the finish clean and long. The old 60hl cask leaves no oak flavour; what you taste is grape, soil, and time in bottle.

Barolo R56 is tighter and more angular in its first years. The whole-cluster percentage adds a slightly herbal, almost violet-floral upper register that lifts the wine above the fruit-and-rose profile of the La Morra cuvée. Bright red fruit and exotic purple fruits follow on the palate, with an acid line that runs harder through the mid-palate and into the finish. The tannins are chalky and fine, giving grip without weight. It takes longer to open than the La Morra expression and rewards several years in cellar.

Across the range, the shared thread is acidity. At 570 metres, the nights are cool enough through September and October to hold acid levels that lower-altitude Nebbiolo can lose. That freshness gives the wines their length and their ability to age.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with Barolo La Morra. It is 100 percent Nebbiolo from the estate's primary La Morra parcels on calcareous sandstone, aged 20 to 24 months in old Slavonian oak, with no new wood character in the finished wine. Orange peel, soft red fruit, and citrus come first; refined tannins and a clean acid finish follow. It is the most direct statement of what this site and this farming approach produce from Nebbiolo: aromatic, floral, and structured without austerity. If La Morra Barolo interests you, this is where to begin.

Anecdote

When Piero Bagnasco walked the Brandini hillside for the first time in 2007, he had already run Fontanafredda, the largest Barolo estate in the zone, and had co-founded Eataly with Oscar Farinetti the year before. The growers he spoke to in La Morra told him the same thing: the site was too high, too cold, too exposed to alpine air from the north. Barolo was planted lower, where the afternoon sun held its warmth into October and the calcareous marl pushed Nebbiolo toward ripeness on schedule. At 570 metres, the site sat above the established planting limit. Bagnasco bought it. Seventeen years later, his daughters Serena and Giovanna manage the same parcels, and the estate produces two Barolo cuvées from vines that most of their neighbours told their father to leave alone.

Final Word

Brandini is a La Morra estate built on a site that local opinion considered wrong for Nebbiolo. The Bagnasco family planted it, farmed it organically, and developed a range that treats Barolo not as a single wine but as a question about fermentation and oak. La Morra and R56 answer that question differently, from the same commune and the same grape. The altitude that once made the site a risk now gives the wines their most distinctive characteristic: a freshness and acid line that stays lively from the first pour to the last.

Sources

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