Who makes it
In 1986, Gianfranco Alessandria took over four hectares of vines in Monforte d'Alba from his father Giuseppe and made a decision that reshaped what the family did with them. Giuseppe had farmed the land and sold the grapes. Gianfranco bottled them under the family name, expanded the holding to around seven hectares, and pointed the winery at Barolo. That pivot now runs through the whole estate: a small, focused range built on Nebbiolo from the San Giovanni vineyard in Monforte d'Alba, one of the main communes inside the Barolo production zone in the Langhe hills of Piemonte.
Gianfranco's daughters Vittoria and Marta run the winery today. Marta brings formal oenological training; the estate's winemaking vocabulary has grown with it, though the address and the fruit remain the same.
Where it grows
Monforte d'Alba sits in the southern arc of the Barolo zone, the DOCG appellation that covers eleven communes in the Langhe hills south of Alba in Piemonte. Nebbiolo grown in Monforte tends toward fuller body and firmer tannin than the wines from the lighter Tortonian soils farther north around La Morra: the Helvetian soils here, a compact mixture of limestone and clay, give the grape more to push against.
The San Giovanni vineyard is in Monforte d'Alba. Its position within the commune shapes the character of Barolo San Giovanni: deeper colour, more grip on the mid-palate, and the slow aromatic development.
How it is made
The cellar
Fermentation takes place in vertical, temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks with short macerations. Keeping maceration time brief softens the extraction of coarse tannin from Nebbiolo skins, giving the wine more approachable fruit on release without sacrificing the structural depth that Monforte sites provide.
Ageing moves into small French oak barrels, 225 litres each. The Barolo San Giovanni spends 24 months in this wood, with 40 percent new oak and the remainder second- and third-passage barrels. The proportion of new oak adds vanilla and spice without overwhelming the fruit; the older barrels contribute oxygen exposure and gentle integration rather than primary oak flavour. The combined regime shapes a Barolo that is more forward than a large-cask traditional wine but carries enough weight and tannin to develop further in bottle.
What they make
The range runs across three appellations and four labels.
Dolcetto d'Alba is the lightest red in the range, made from Dolcetto grown on the estate's Langhe parcels. Dolcetto produces wines with soft tannin, low acidity, and dark fruit from these hillside soils.