Italy · Langhe

Poderi Fogliati di Annalisa Chiappa

Organic Barolo estate on Pugnane hill, revived in 2016 by Annalisa Chiappa and her brother Guido after a generation without estate bottling.

The producer

Most of the vines on Pugnane hill had been growing for over ninety years before anyone at Poderi Fogliati bottled a single grape from them. The family owned the land for decades, farmed it, and sold the fruit to other producers. That arrangement ended in 2016, when Annalisa Chiappa left her law practice in Miami and came back to the Langhe with her brother Guido. They renovated the family villa, converted the farming to organic, and made their first wine from that same autumn's harvest. The estate carries Annalisa's name and her decision.

The vineyards sit on Pugnane hill at the northern edge of Bussia, one of the most valued crus in Barolo, straddling the communal boundary between Castiglione Falletto and Monforte d'Alba. The range centres on three expressions of Nebbiolo: Barolo Bussia from fully south-facing old vines with over ninety years of history, Barolo Treturne from the cooler boundary vineyard between the two communes, and a Langhe Nebbiolo from Pugnane that reaches the market earlier and without Barolo's ageing requirements. Dolcetto and Barbera d'Alba Superiore complete the lineup. All vinification begins in steel tanks and moves to large oak casks, no new wood.

Known for

Old-vine Barolo from south-facing parcels at the northern edge of the Bussia cru.

Notable facts

The story

The Lawyer Who Came Home

Annalisa Chiappa was in Miami, still working as a lawyer, when she made the decision to return to the Langhe in 2016. The Fogliati family had held the estate since the early 1950s. The old Nebbiolo parcels on Pugnane hill had been harvested every year, but the grapes had gone to other producers rather than being bottled under the family name, a practice that had run for a generation after her grandfather Guido Fogliati died. Annalisa came back, her brother Guido came with her, they renovated the villa and converted the farming to organic. That autumn, they made wine from the same vines that had been feeding other people's Barolos for decades. The 2016 is both their inaugural vintage and the year of return.

From the atlas

Poderi Fogliati di Annalisa Chiappa

At A Glance

Country: Italy Region: Piemonte, Langhe Village/Appellation: Castiglione Falletto and Monforte d'Alba Grape: Nebbiolo (also Dolcetto, Barbera) Style: Red wines, traditional Barolo method Farming: Certified organic Inaugural vintage: 2016

The Producer

Most of the vines on Pugnane hill had been growing for over ninety years before anyone at Poderi Fogliati bottled a single grape from them. The family owned the land for decades, farmed it, and sold the fruit to other producers. That arrangement ended in 2016, when Annalisa Chiappa left her law practice in Miami and came back to the Langhe with her brother Guido to make the estate's first wine.

Annalisa Chiappa is the name the estate carries now. She and Guido renovated the family villa, committed to organic farming across the estate's plots on the hills between Castiglione Falletto and Monforte d'Alba, and harvested their first grapes in the same year they arrived. The estate produces Barolo from two distinct vineyard positions, plus a Langhe Nebbiolo and smaller volumes of Dolcetto and Barbera d'Alba Superiore.

Place

Pugnane hill sits at the northern edge of Bussia, one of the most debated and most valued crus in Barolo. Bussia is formally within the commune of Monforte d'Alba, and its south-facing aspect is a recurring argument for why its Nebbiolo reaches full ripeness in a variety that needs heat and a long season. Pugnane is the transitional ground where Bussia's northern reach meets Castiglione Falletto, the commune immediately north.

That communal boundary runs through the estate's vineyards. The Bussia parcel sits fully within Monforte, with unbroken southern exposure. The Treturne vineyard straddles the line between Monforte and Castiglione Falletto, which gives it a different thermal character: slightly cooler and with more morning exposure than a pure Bussia plot. Both parcels are farmed under organic certification, no synthetic inputs.

Barolo as an appellation covers a cluster of communes in the southern Langhe, and a wine labelled Barolo Bussia places its origin in a named cru within Monforte, on a south-facing slope with old vines, a named cru within Monforte, on a slope with documented exposure and old vine history. A wine labelled Langhe Nebbiolo, by contrast, comes from a wider DOC area and carries no minimum ageing requirements, which is why the estate's Langhe bottling from Castiglione Falletto's Pugnane area reaches the market earlier and at a lower price than the Barolos.

Soil And Site

The soils of the Bussia and Pugnane area are predominantly calcareous marl and clay, which is the typical composition across the Langhe hills at this elevation. The Barolo Bussia parcels have full southern exposure, which in Nebbiolo terms concentrates sugars and supports the long maceration periods that build the grape's characteristic tannin. Old vines with root systems developed over ninety years extract from deeper subsoil layers, which tends toward lower yields and more concentrated fruit rather than volume.

Story

Before the Fogliati family, this land belonged to Spirito Zocca, a Barolo producer who was exporting wine to Argentina in the nineteenth century. Guido Fogliati bought the estate in the early 1950s and continued winemaking. When he died, the operation shifted: the vineyards stayed in cultivation, but the wine stopped being made under the family name, and the grapes were sold off to producers elsewhere in the Langhe. That arrangement ran for a generation.

The change came from outside. Annalisa Chiappa had built a career in law in Miami. She knew the estate was there and knew what the vines were capable of producing. In 2016, she and her brother Guido took the property back, renovated the buildings, and converted the farming to organic. They made the first wine that autumn. One estate, one decision, one vintage: the 2016 Barolo was both the inaugural bottle and the first harvest after the return. The estate has grown its range from that starting point, and all vinification still begins in steel tanks before moving to large oak casks.

Vineyards And Cellar

Harvest begins in early October when temperatures start to fall across the Langhe hills, and all picking is done by hand. For Nebbiolo at this elevation and exposure, late-season temperature drops after a warm summer are what lock in the balance between ripe tannin and acid line. Picking by hand allows sorting in the vineyard before anything reaches the cellar.

Vinification starts in steel tanks, which preserves the grape's fruit character and acidity before the wine moves to wood. Ageing takes place in large oak casks, a traditional format in Barolo that imparts oxygen without adding heavy oak flavour. The Barolo Bussia undergoes a vintage-dependent period of skin maceration that changes from year to year depending on the harvest. The Barolo Treturne 2020 was macerated for thirty-five days and then matured for eighteen months in fifty-hectolitre Stockinger botti and cement vats. The Langhe Nebbiolo spends approximately nine months in large oak before bottling. No new wood is used across the range.

Wines

The range centres on three expressions of Nebbiolo from different elevations and positions on Pugnane hill and its margins.

Barolo Bussia comes from the fully south-facing old-vine parcels within Monforte d'Alba, with vines over ninety years old. The south exposure pushes Nebbiolo toward full tannin development and ripe dark fruit; the old vines moderate yields and concentrate what reaches the press. Skin maceration builds the grape's firm tannic backbone, and the wine spends its required time in large oak before release. This is the estate's most historically grounded bottle.

Barolo Treturne comes from the vineyard on the communal boundary between Monforte and Castiglione Falletto. The 2020 vintage showed dried rose, tar, and dark cherry on the nose with firm but refined tannin and a long finish. The 2020 shows raspberry and cherry fruit, coating tannins, and a long, textured raspberry finish. BBR places its drinking window from 2025 through 2036.

Langhe Nebbiolo comes from a parcel in Pugnane, Castiglione Falletto. Same grape, same hill, lighter élevage: approximately nine months in large oak, earlier release, lower price. The 2023 vintage shows red cherry, violets, dried herbs, and a lifted acid line. It sits in the range as the clearest way to understand how the estate handles Nebbiolo before committing to a Barolo.

Dolcetto and Barbera d'Alba Superiore round out the range, adding early-drinking red options from Langhe varieties.

In The Glass

Nebbiolo from Bussia and Pugnane opens with dried rose petals and a tar note that is specific to the grape at this ripeness level. Dark cherry and plum follow, and the mid-palate fills out with the firm, granular tannin that Nebbiolo builds from long maceration on skins. The old-vine Bussia fruit has more concentration and weight than the Treturne, which is cooler and more linear. Across both Barolos, the acid line remains pronounced through the finish, which is what makes these wines age and what keeps the tannin from feeling heavy in youth.

The Langhe Nebbiolo is lighter in every dimension: red cherry rather than dark fruit, violets rather than rose, dried herbs, and a fresher, shorter finish. The acidity is still lifted, which keeps it from being a simple early-drinking wine. Nine months in large casks adds a faint woody note without obscuring the fruit.

The Barbera d'Alba Superiore, under DOC rules, carries minimum wood ageing, which adds some weight and roundness to a variety that is naturally high in acid and low in tannin.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with the Barolo Treturne. It comes from the vineyard on the Monforte and Castiglione Falletto boundary, which gives it more freshness and approachability in its first decade than the more concentrated Bussia. The 2020 was macerated for thirty-five days and spent eighteen months in large Stockinger botti and cement vats: old-format élevage that keeps the fruit clean while building the long finish Barolo needs. Dried rose, tar, dark cherry, firm tannin, and enough acid to carry the wine through 2036. It is the bottle that shows the house's traditional method and the hill's character without requiring the patience that the oldest vines demand.

Anecdote

Annalisa Chiappa was in Miami, still working as a lawyer, when she made the decision to return to the Langhe in 2016. The Fogliati family had held the estate since the early 1950s. The vines had never stopped growing. The old Nebbiolo parcels on Pugnane hill had been harvested every year, but the grapes had gone to other producers rather than being bottled under the family name, a practice that had run for a generation after her grandfather Guido died. Annalisa came back, her brother Guido came with her, and they renovated the villa and converted the farming to organic. The autumn of that first year they were home, they made wine from the same vines that had been feeding other people's Barolos for decades. The 2016 is both their inaugural vintage and the year of return.

Final Word

Poderi Fogliati di Annalisa Chiappa is a small estate making traditional Barolo from a well-positioned stretch of Pugnane hill at the northern margin of Bussia. The vines are old, the farming is organic, and the cellar stays close to the large-cask Barolo tradition. The estate is eight harvests old as a revived operation, which means the record is short but the starting material is not. Treturne is the way in.

Sources

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