Tenute Cisa Asinari Dei Marchesi di Gresy

The story

The 1973 Decision

In 1973, Alberto di Grésy changed what left the estate each harvest. The family had held Martinenga since 1797, but for 176 years the Nebbiolo went to other producers. Alberto ended that and began vinifying and bottling under the family name. Five years later, in 1978, he made a further cut within Martinenga: a parcel that consistently returned deeper colour and more concentrated fruit at harvest was bottled separately for the first time. That was the first Camp Gros. The selection showed that the same 11-hectare amphitheatre could yield more than one reading, and that 1978 bottle became the blueprint for the estate's highest tier. Camp Gros became a Riserva from 2010, and the decision Alberto made on the hillside above his winery in 1978 still defines where the range reaches its ceiling.

From the atlas

Tenute Cisa Asinari Dei Marchesi di Gresy

At A Glance

The Producer

Martinenga is not a common address. It is a single natural amphitheatre outside Barbaresco village, and it has been in the hands of one family since 1797. That is an unusually long act of concentrated stewardship for a named Piemontese cru, and everything Tenute Cisa Asinari dei Marchesi di Grésy produces traces back to that bowl of Nebbiolo on the hillside.

For most of those two hundred years, the grapes left the estate. It was Alberto di Grésy who changed the direction, beginning estate vinification in 1973 and releasing the wines under the family name. The winery sits inside Martinenga itself, so the 11 hectares of Nebbiolo that feed the three flagship Barbarescos surround the cellar on all sides.

Alberto's children Alessandro and Ludovica joined the estate in 2013, and the operation now spans four properties across Langhe and Monferrato, totalling 45 hectares. All grapes from each estate travel to Martinenga for vinification.

Place

Barbaresco is a small DOCG appellation in the Langhe, the hill country of southern Piemonte, where Nebbiolo produces the region's two most serious red wines. Barbaresco and Barolo share a grape and a latitude but sit on different soils in different valleys, and Barbaresco is typically earlier to soften, with a slightly finer tannin character than its larger neighbour.

Martinenga sits within the Barbaresco DOCG and functions as a named cru, a specific vineyard block rather than a general appellation address. Its amphitheatre form, a natural hollow that cups the winery in Nebbiolo on the slope above, concentrates solar exposure and creates a measurable microclimate within the larger zone. That physical form is what makes three separate Barbaresco labels from the same 11 hectares credible: the parcel is varied enough within itself to be read at different levels of selection.

Beyond Martinenga, the estate operates in two further Langhe zones and in Monferrato. La Serra in Cassine provides the Barbera d'Asti fruit. Monte Aribaldo in Treiso gives the Dolcetto d'Alba. Each grape finds its territory; each territory stays separate from the Nebbiolo work at Martinenga.

Soil And Site

Martinenga's soils are calcareous marl and clay, the pale Tortonian and Helvetian formations that characterise Barbaresco's better hillsides. This geology holds water without waterlogging, moderates temperature during the long Nebbiolo ripening season, and produces the firm acid backbone that allows Barbaresco to age. The amphitheatre orientation maximises afternoon light on the Nebbiolo during the critical September and October weeks before harvest.

La Serra in Cassine, Monferrato, sits on different geology from the Langhe estates, giving the Barbera d'Asti a warmer, rounder fruit character than would be possible further south. Monte Aribaldo in Treiso, on the edge of the Barbaresco zone, provides the sandy soils that suit Dolcetto's early ripening habit.

Story

The di Grésy family acquired Martinenga in 1797, but ownership and production are different things. For the next 176 years the vineyard operated as most Piemontese estates did: grapes went to other producers, and the family took no part in shaping the wine or the label.

Alberto di Grésy broke that pattern in 1973. He decided to vinify the estate's own grapes and put the family name on the bottles. It was not a large operation. Martinenga was 11 hectares of Nebbiolo and a winery at the centre of the bowl. But it was a commitment to read the vineyard directly rather than hand it off at harvest.

Five years in, Alberto made a further selection. Within Martinenga, the parcel known as Camp Gros consistently showed greater concentration and depth at harvest. The first Camp Gros Barbaresco was bottled in 1978. From 2010, the wine was released as a Riserva, requiring extended ageing before it reached the market. Camp Gros is now the estate's highest tier.

A parallel selection, Gaiun, came from a distinct parcel within Martinenga with its own exposure and harvest timing. The two single-parcel Barbarescos and the estate-level Martinenga label now form a three-tier range from the same 11-hectare block.

Alessandro and Ludovica di Grésy joined their father in 2013, continuing the work across all four estates.

Vineyards And Cellar

Martinenga's Nebbiolo is farmed in the traditional Guyot-trained rows typical of Barbaresco, with vine density suited to the calcareous marl. The estate maintains an aromatic garden specifically for biodiversity: pollinating insects and natural regulation of vineyard pests, reducing pressure on the vines without the need for intervention.

All grapes from the four estates are brought to the Martinenga winery for vinification. In the cellar, the production approach combines modern temperature control with traditional ageing vessels. For the Martinenga Barbaresco, documented ageing for the 2020 vintage used a mix of new, first-use, and second-use barriques for 12 months, followed by a further 12 months in Slavonian oak casks. The Slavonian oak contributes less extractive wood character than French barriques at the same age, allowing Nebbiolo's tannin and dried rose aromatics to remain in the foreground. Camp Gros, as a Riserva, receives extended time before release. The precise ageing protocols for Gaiun are not separately documented in the available sources.

Wines

The Martinenga estate label is the base Barbaresco from the full 11-hectare parcel. It is vinified from Nebbiolo grown across the amphitheatre, aged in barriques and then Slavonian oak, and released without Riserva designation. Ruby in colour, it shows the floral and fresh character of Barbaresco Nebbiolo without the weight and tannin extraction of a long-maceration traditional style. The tannins are silky at release, the finish fresh and persistent. It is the accessible tier within the range.

Camp Gros Riserva is a selection from the parcel within Martinenga that showed the most concentrated fruit and deepest colour at harvest, going back to the first bottle in 1978. As a Riserva, it requires longer ageing before release. Expect darker fruit, firmer tannins, greater mid-palate density, and a longer finish than the estate label.

Gaiun Barbaresco comes from a second distinct parcel within Martinenga with its own sun exposure and harvest timing. Its character sits alongside Camp Gros as a single-parcel reading of the cru rather than an estate blend.

Beyond Nebbiolo, the estate produces Barbera d'Asti from La Serra in Cassine, where Barbera expresses a warm Monferrato character: fuller body, riper red fruit, and less tannin than the Langhe reds. Dolcetto d'Alba Monte Aribaldo from Treiso is described as fragrant and light-bodied, the early-drinking red in the range. Chardonnay and Sauvignon are also produced at or near Barbaresco, completing a range that moves well beyond the Nebbiolo flagship tier.

In The Glass

Martinenga Barbaresco opens with dried rose, violet, and fresh red cherry, the classic Nebbiolo aromatic register on calcareous marl. There is a floral lift above the fruit that stays even as the wine settles in the glass. The mid-palate is moderately concentrated, with the fruit rounded by 12 months in a mix of new and used barriques; the Slavonian oak ageing that follows softens the oak influence without removing it. Tannins are silky and even rather than gripping, making the wine approachable within a few years of release while still carrying enough acid backbone for further ageing.

Camp Gros, when ready, comes in darker: blackberry and dried plum alongside the rose, with a more textured tannin and a finish that extends noticeably longer than the estate label. The Riserva designation reflects a longer cellar rest and a more concentrated parcel, and both are felt in the glass. Gaiun sits in a similar register to Camp Gros but with its own tonal difference from a slightly different hillside exposure.

Across the Nebbiolo range, the estate style leans toward fresh aromatics and silky tannin rather than the more austere, slow-developing traditional Barbaresco profile.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with Martinenga Barbaresco, the estate label rather than either Riserva. It is pure Nebbiolo from the full 11-hectare amphitheatre, aged in a mix of barriques and Slavonian oak, and it delivers Barbaresco's essential character without requiring patience for a Riserva to open. In the glass it gives dried rose, fresh cherry, a mid-palate with real weight, silky tannins, and a long fresh finish. The accessible tannin at release means it can be opened young but holds for a decade. It is the clearest single statement of what Martinenga produces and what the cellar does with it.

Anecdote

In 1973, Alberto di Grésy made a decision that changed what left the estate each harvest. The di Grésy family had held Martinenga since 1797, but for 176 years the Nebbiolo went elsewhere. Other producers made the wine; the family held the land. Alberto ended that arrangement and began vinifying and bottling under the family name. Five years later, in 1978, he made a further cut within Martinenga: a parcel consistently returning deeper, more concentrated fruit at harvest was bottled separately for the first time. That was the first Camp Gros. The name went on a label, and the bottle showed that the same 11-hectare bowl could yield more than one reading. Camp Gros became a Riserva from 2010, and the 1978 selection that Alberto made on the hillside above his winery remains the highest tier in the range today.

Final Word

Martinenga is a rare thing in Barbaresco: a single cru in one family's hands for more than two centuries, now making three bottles from the same amphitheatre of Nebbiolo. The estate label is the place to start. Camp Gros shows where that parcel reaches when given time.

Sources

• https://www.marchesidigresy.com/letenute
• https://www.italysfinestwines.it/en/tenute-cisa-asinari-dei-marchesi-di-gresy/
• https://boutinot.com/producers/marchesi-di-gresy/
• https://www.meregalli.com/it/prodotto/wines/barbarescomartinenga2020-6258QC20