From the atlas
Azienda Agricola Bric Cenciurio
At A Glance
Producer: Azienda Agricola Bric Cenciurio Country: Italy Region: Piemonte Appellations: Barolo DOCG, Roero Arneis DOCG, Barbera d'Alba DOC Grapes: Nebbiolo, Arneis, Barbera Vineyards: approximately 18 hectares across four communes Founded: 1990 Management: Alessandro and Alberto Pittatore, Fiorella Pittatore, Carlo Sacchetto
The Producer
Bric Cenciurio sits on both sides of the Tanaro River in Piemonte, with Barolo vineyards on the Langhe bank and Arneis parcels in the sandy Roero hills to the northwest. The estate takes its name from an ancient vineyard in Roero called Bric Cenciurio. The 18 hectares spread across four communes, Barolo, Novello, Castellinaldo, and Magliano Alfieri, covering the Nebbiolo-dominated Langhe and the lighter, aromatic hills across the river.
Franco Pittatore and his brother-in-law Carlo Sacchetto founded the estate in 1990 by merging their separate family properties. Franco died in the vineyard roughly two years later, leaving his sons Alessandro and Alberto still young. Carlo and Franco's widow Fiorella kept the estate running until the sons were ready. Alessandro and Alberto now manage the winery alongside their mother and uncle. That second-generation inheritance shapes everything about how the estate works: manual labor throughout, sustainable farming, a range that covers both territories their father and uncle chose to join.
Place
The Tanaro River divides Piemonte into two distinct agricultural territories at this point. On the southeast bank lie the Langhe hills, where Nebbiolo produces Barolo, one of Italy's most age-capable red wines. On the northwest bank lie the Roero hills, geologically older, with sandier, fossil-rich soils and a reputation for Arneis, the white grape that was almost extinct by the 1970s before a handful of Roero producers revived it.
Bric Cenciurio works both sides. The Barolo parcels, on the right bank of the Tanaro in the Monrobiolo di Bussia area, include vines over 40 years old. The Arneis parcels sit in Castellinaldo in Roero. The Barbera d'Alba vines are in Magliano Alfieri, another Roero commune. The estate's geographic spread means that the Barolo label and the Arneis label come from different soils, different climates at the micro level, and different grape varieties responding to different ground. The range architecture follows the river.
Soil And Site
The Barolo parcels in Monrobiolo di Bussia sit on the classic Langhe substratum: calcareous marl, compacted clay, and the kind of stony mineral base. The vines in these parcels are over 40 years old, with root systems that reach deep enough to draw on consistent mineral reserves through dry summers.
The Roero side is materially different: sandier soils formed from ancient marine sediments, lighter in texture, with the fossil-rich deposits that give the Arneis cuvee its name, Sito dei Fossili. Sandy soils drain quickly, warm early in spring, and encourage aromatic development in white varieties. Arneis in Castellinaldo produces a grape that is naturally perfumed and relatively low in acid, which is why the cellar work around it matters so much.
Story
Franco Pittatore and Carlo Sacchetto made a practical decision in 1990: rather than farming their family parcels separately, they merged them into a single estate that could cover both the Langhe and Roero with enough scale to make serious wine. The name they chose, Bric Cenciurio, came from an old vineyard name in the Roero hills. Barolo was the more prestigious anchor.
Franco died in the vineyard roughly two years after the founding, leaving the estate in its earliest years without its co-founder. Carlo Sacchetto and Fiorella Pittatore, Franco's widow, continued the work. Alessandro and Alberto Pittatore grew up on the property and eventually took over management alongside their mother and uncle. The decision their father helped make, to farm both territories manually and with attention to biodiversity, has remained the estate's operating principle. The Arneis cold-storage method and the extended Barolo oak program are both deliberate choices that take time and care, and they reflect a management style that treats each bottle as a project rather than a volume exercise.
Vineyards And Cellar
Farming is strictly manual across all four communes. No mechanical harvesting, no shortcuts through canopy management. The estate cites biodiversity as a formal commitment: the vineyards are managed to support the broader agricultural ecosystem around the vines, not just the vine rows.
The Arneis production sequence is the most technically distinctive in the range. Grapes are harvested in early September and immediately go into cold storage at zero degrees Celsius for 15 days. The purpose is direct: the cold concentrates aromatic compounds in the juice before any fermentation begins. After cold storage, fermentation runs at low temperature in stainless steel, preserving the primary floral and stone-fruit aromatics that make Arneis legible in the glass. The Sito dei Fossili cuvee then moves to large oak barrels of 2,000 to 3,500 liters for six months. Barrels of this size add texture and gentle oxygen contact without imposing oak flavor, so the wine gains weight while the aromatics stay intact.
The Barolo ages 24 months in oak barrels, followed by additional time in tank and bottle before release. This follows the classic Barolo aging trajectory: long barrel time to manage Nebbiolo's hard tannin, then bottle time to allow integration before the wine reaches the market. The Barbera d'Alba Naunda, from 70-year-old vines in Magliano Alfieri, ages 18 months in oak barriques, smaller vessels than those used for the Barolo, which contributes more direct oak influence and rounds out the Barbera's naturally bright acidity.
Wines
The range covers three appellations and two distinct territories.
Barolo DOCG Monrobiolo di Bussia is Nebbiolo from parcels with vines over 40 years old on the right bank of the Tanaro. The Monrobiolo di Bussia area sits within the Bussia subzone of Barolo, known for wines with dried rose, tar, and firm tannin. The 24-month oak program and additional bottle aging produce a wine that is angular and demanding when young, with the structural depth to reward several years of cellaring. The fruit is dark cherry and dried plum; the tannin is drying and gripping; the finish is long and mineral.
Roero Arneis DOCG Sito dei Fossili is the more unusual bottle. Arneis is a white grape from the Roero, naturally aromatic and relatively low in acid, which can make it flat when vinified carelessly. The 15-day cold-storage step before fermentation amplifies the aromatics, and the six months in large oak adds texture without masking the grape. The Sito dei Fossili spends six months in large oak barrels after fermentation. The fruit is peach, white blossom, and a rounded mid-palate, broader and more complete than steel-only Arneis, with enough weight to work alongside richer dishes.
Barbera d'Alba Naunda is a single-vineyard red from 70-year-old Barbera vines in Magliano Alfieri. Old-vine Barbera has deeper color and more concentrated dark fruit than young-vine versions, and 18 months in oak barriques adds vanilla, spice, and a softening of the grape's naturally high acidity. The wine is plush, dark-fruited, and accessible, with a finish that balances Barbera's characteristic brightness against oak-derived roundness.
In The Glass
The Arneis Sito dei Fossili opens with white peach, pear blossom, and a hint of almond that comes from the Arneis grape on sandy Roero soils. In the mouth, the six months in large oak gives the wine a gentle roundness that lifts the mid-palate, and the acidity, while moderate compared to northern Italian whites, keeps the finish clean and defined rather than heavy. The cold-storage step is audible in the aromatics: they are more vivid and more layered than a simple steel Arneis, and they carry through to the finish rather than fading in the glass.
The Barolo Monrobiolo di Bussia pours deep garnet and gives dried rose, iron, and tar on the nose, the characteristic Nebbiolo aromatic profile from Bussia-area parcels. On the palate the tannin takes control: it is firm, drying, and long, wrapping around a core of dark cherry and earthy spice. The acidity is high and keeps the wine lively through the finish. Young bottles are demanding; four or five years in bottle soften the edges and allow the fruit to surface more clearly beneath the tannin.
The Barbera Naunda reads differently: dark plum and blackberry, a warm spice note from the barrique aging, and a mid-palate that is rounded and generous in a way that Nebbiolo never quite allows. The old-vine concentration keeps the fruit dark and serious, and the oak adds a vanilla note that confirms the wine's ambition without overwhelming the Barbera character underneath.
A Bottle To Understand It
Start with the Roero Arneis Sito dei Fossili. It is an Arneis from Castellinaldo parcels in the Roero hills, fermented cold in stainless steel and then aged six months in large oak, and it demonstrates the most deliberate and distinctive production choices on the estate. The nose is immediately generous: white peach, pear blossom, a faint note of almond. In the mouth the large-barrel aging has built genuine texture, a mid-palate roundness that many Arneis wines lack, while the acidity holds the finish clean. It is not an anonymous white wine. The cold-storage step, the estate's own protocol before fermentation, is the reason the aromatics have this kind of presence, and the fossil-soil parcels in Roero give the wine a mineral thread beneath the fruit. The estate is named after a Roero vineyard. The Arneis comes first.
Anecdote
Franco Pittatore was in the vineyard in the early 1990s, two years or so after he and his brother-in-law Carlo had merged their family parcels and given the new estate the name of an old Roero hill. He died there, in the vineyard, while the estate was still finding its footing. His sons Alessandro and Alberto were young children. Carlo Sacchetto and Fiorella Pittatore, Franco's widow, kept the vines running, the harvests coming in, the Barolo going into oak and the Arneis into cold storage, until the boys were old enough to take over. Alessandro and Alberto run the estate today. The name on the label is a Roero place-name that Franco never saw fully realized, and the wines that carry it are made by the sons of the man who chose it.
Final Word
Bric Cenciurio is a Piemonte estate that works both sides of the Tanaro, which in practice means Barolo tannin on one hand and aromatic Arneis on the other, from a family that has been making the most of a founder's early death for over thirty years. The Arneis Sito dei Fossili is the most distinctive bottle: the cold-storage protocol and the large-barrel aging are real choices with real consequences in the glass. The Barolo needs time. The Barbera Naunda, from 70-year-old vines, is the wine to open while waiting for the Nebbiolo to soften.
Sources
- https://www.briccenciurio.com/en
- https://www.italysfinestwines.it/bric-cenciurio/
- https://www.italysfinestwines.it/roero-arneis-sito-dei-fossili-bric-cenciurio/
- https://www.wineshop.it/en/blog/roero-arneis-bric-cenciurio.html
- https://bottleofitaly.com/en-us/products/barolo-docg-monrobiolo-di-bussia-bric-cenciurio
- https://www.ice.it/en/my-home/find-your-italian-partner/company-details/554600/BRIC-CENCIURIO-Azienda-Agricola
- https://heritagewines.com.hk/bric-cenciurio/