Italy · Langhe

Poderi Cellario

Family estate in Carrù on the western Langhe, making low-intervention wines from indigenous Piedmontese varieties across five hillside sites.

The producer

Poderi Cellario sits in Carrù, on the western edge of the Langhe, where the hills flatten out well before the classified zones of Barolo and Barbaresco begin. Fausto and Cinzia Cellario are the third generation to farm here, working approximately 30 hectares of hillside parcels across five sites in the southern Langhe: Farigliano, Dogliani (San Luigi), Carrù, and Piozzo. They make only wines from indigenous Piedmontese varieties: Nascetta, Moscato Giallo, Dolcetto, Nebbiolo. The estate has farmed since 1971, first for pleasure, then as a profession, and the convictions have accumulated steadily since.

The turn toward low-intervention winemaking came from a concrete need: Cinzia cannot tolerate sulfites, so Fausto stopped adding chemistry to the cellar before natural wine had a market name. From there the commitments deepened. The vineyards now use biodynamic preparations timed to lunar phases, mating disruption instead of insecticides, and manure in place of artificial fertiliser. The two-level cellar runs on solar electricity, ferments on indigenous yeasts, and matures wine in cement, amphora, and large neutral oak below ground where the temperature stays naturally cool. Sulfur goes in only at bottling, and only when the wine needs it.

Known for

Pét-nat frizzante from Nascetta and Moscato Giallo; single-vineyard Dolcetto; Langhe Nebbiolo aged in large neutral oak.

Notable facts

The story

The Big Moustache

Tonio was Cinzia's father and his nickname was Il Baffone, the big moustache. He knew how to make wine sparkle in the bottle the old way, before pét-nat had a French name or a natural wine following: arrest the fermentation, cap the bottle, let the remaining sugar complete the work inside the glass. He showed Fausto how it was done. When Fausto and Cinzia began making their own frizzante from Nascetta and Moscato Giallo, they named it after him. The label carries a drawing of the moustache. Tonio is gone, but the technique he passed on goes into every bottle of Il Baffone that leaves the cellar in Carrù.

From the atlas

Poderi Cellario

At A Glance

LocationCarrù, southern Langhe, Piemonte
GrapesNascetta, Moscato Giallo, Dolcetto, Nebbiolo
Key WinesIl Baffone (pét-nat), San Luigi (Dolcetto), Galli (Langhe Nebbiolo)
FarmingLow-intervention; biodynamic experiments; solar-powered cellar
CellarStainless steel for vinification; cement, amphora and wood for maturation

The Producer

Poderi Cellario sits in Carrù, on the western edge of the Langhe, where the hills flatten out well before the famous classified zones of Barolo and Barbaresco begin. Fausto and Cinzia Cellario are the third generation to farm here, working approximately 30 hectares of hillside parcels across five sites. They make only wines from indigenous Piedmontese varieties: Nascetta, Moscato Giallo, Dolcetto, Nebbiolo. No international grapes, no shortcuts.

The estate describes itself as a group of friends as much as a family business. Farming began in 1971, first for pleasure, then as a profession. What drives the wines now is a set of convictions accumulated over decades: that the land responds to care rather than chemistry, that fermentation works best with the yeasts already present, and that the cellar does its job quietly, without temperature control or significant added sulfur.

Place

Carrù is not a name wine buyers typically encounter on a label. The Langhe is famous for its classified hillsides around Alba, Barolo, and Barbaresco, and Carrù sits to the west of that corridor, outside the prestige appellations. The five vineyard sites spread across the southern Langhe: Farigliano, Dogliani (San Luigi), Carrù, and Piozzo, all on hillside parcels.

Being outside the classified zones has consequences in the glass. The wines carry a quieter, less extracted character than Barolo or Barbaresco. The Langhe Nebbiolo appellation, which Galli uses, covers a wide area and allows grapes grown across this southern stretch to reach the bottle under a single regional label rather than a village name.

Soil And Site

The two most distinct sites are Farigliano and San Luigi at Dogliani, and they produce clearly different soils.

Farigliano sits on calcareous Sant'Agata marls: poor, white, chalky ground that pushes vines to work for water and nutrition. In the glass, those soils translate to firmer tannin and more body in the red wines. Nebbiolo goes here.

San Luigi is the exception. The soil at Dogliani is a mix of sandstone and marl, with reddish portions, and the estate says it gives the wines more fruit and a softer texture. Dolcetto, which already tends toward a rounder, earlier-drinking profile, goes here. The soil match is deliberate.

Story

The family has farmed around Carrù since 1971, starting with a few friends and a shared enthusiasm for the land. Vinegrowing came before winemaking; the move from farming to bottling under their own name followed slowly.

The turn toward a fully low-intervention approach came from an unexpected direction. Cinzia discovered she was intolerant to sulfites, and Fausto began rethinking the cellar. He wanted to make wine his family could drink. That meant dropping conventional chemistry before natural winemaking had a widely recognised name or a market. The philosophical position followed from a health need.

From there, the commitments compounded. The estate began experimenting with biodynamic preparations, spraying horn silica and horn manure in the vineyards following lunar phases. They installed photovoltaic panels so that the electricity running the winery is produced on site. Mating disruption pheromone dispensers went up in the vineyards to reduce grape-damaging insect populations without insecticides. The underground cellar, naturally cool, needed no air conditioning. Each decision reinforced the last.

Vineyards And Cellar

Grass grows between the vine rows year-round. Before a new vineyard is planted, manure replaces artificial fertiliser, and the estate periodically sows legumes and grasses to restore soil balance. Pest control uses mating disruption rather than insecticides: pheromone dispensers confuse damaging insects and reduce their populations without chemical intervention.

In the cellar, the two levels handle different jobs. Ground level holds stainless-steel tanks for vinification: clean, easy to sanitise, requiring no chemical additives. The lower underground level holds the wines through maturation in cement tanks, clay amphorae, and wood. Fermentation runs on indigenous yeasts throughout. Sulfur goes in only in small amounts at bottling, and only when the wine genuinely needs it.

Wines

Three wines sit at the centre of the range, each using a different grape and a different style.

Il Baffone is a pét-nat frizzante made from Nascetta, a rare white Piedmontese variety, blended with Moscato Giallo vinified dry. The wine referments naturally in bottle, is left unfiltered to preserve the sparkle, and carries a persistent but light mousse. The fruit register sits in yellow: pear, apple, apricot. A saline edge cuts through the fruit, and the acidity is lively.

San Luigi is 100% Dolcetto from the single vineyard at Dogliani. Six days of maceration extracts colour and tannin without pushing the wine toward austerity. The sandstone-marl soils at the site pull the wine toward fruit and a rounder body.

Galli is 100% Nebbiolo, labelled as Langhe Nebbiolo. Ten days of maceration, followed by twelve months in large-format neutral oak, then six months in bottle before release. The oak is untoasted Slovenian wood; the large format and the neutral character mean the vessel shapes rather than flavours the wine. Firm tannin, herb and earth alongside the fruit.

In The Glass

Il Baffone opens with pear, apple, and apricot, the Nascetta grape's yellow-fruit character amplified by the Moscato Giallo. The dry vinification of the Moscato keeps the wine from turning sweet. A salty edge runs through the mid-palate, and the acidity is brisk. The persistent fine sparkle from the natural bottle refermentation lightens the whole texture; this is a wine that refreshes rather than fills.

San Luigi has the fruit-forward warmth that Dolcetto grown on sandstone-marl typically delivers: dark plum and berry, medium body, soft tannin from six days of maceration, and enough acidity to keep it moving through the meal.

Galli has the weight and dryness of Langhe Nebbiolo at its most serious. Fruit, herb, earth and spice arrive together, and the tannin is firm without being hard. Twelve months in large neutral oak adds a faint wood texture without imposing flavour. The six months in bottle before release rounds the edges, but Galli rewards a little more time after opening.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with Il Baffone. It is a pét-nat made from Nascetta and dry Moscato Giallo, refermented in bottle, unfiltered, with no added sulfur. Pear, apple and apricot come first, then a saline edge and a bright acid line across the fine persistent sparkle. No heaviness, no sweetness, no oak. The bottle was named after Tonio, Cinzia's father, who taught Fausto the bottle-sparkling technique: the label carries a drawing of a moustache, Il Baffone.

Anecdote

Tonio was Cinzia's father and his nickname was Il Baffone, the big moustache. He knew how to make wine sparkle in the bottle the old way, before pét-nat had a French name or a natural wine following: arrest the fermentation, cap the bottle, let the remaining sugar complete the work inside the glass. He showed Fausto how it was done. When Fausto and Cinzia began making their own frizzante from Nascetta and Moscato Giallo, they named it after him. The label carries a drawing of the moustache. Tonio is gone, but the technique he passed on goes into every bottle of Il Baffone that leaves the cellar in Carrù.

Final Word

Poderi Cellario is a Langhe estate that chose its convictions before the market caught up with them. The western hillsides outside the classified zones, the indigenous grape varieties, the biodynamic experiments, the solar panels, the unfiltered pét-nat: each follows from the same direction of travel that began with a family health need and hardened into a philosophy over fifty years. The wines are quiet, precise and farm-honest, and the label on Il Baffone carries a moustache that belongs to a man who knew something worth passing on.

Sources

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