Who makes it
The village of Montegrosso d'Asti sits in the Monferrato hills southeast of Asti, a rolling UNESCO-recognized landscape of limestone and clay where Barbera is the native grape. Tenuta La Meridiana has been farming here for five generations, and in 1890 became one of the first estates in the area to bottle its own wine for sale rather than sending grapes or bulk wine to the market. The family name appeared on the label.
The family oversees every stage of production directly, from individual vineyard plots to bottling. Their working philosophy is uncomplicated on paper and demanding in practice: use native varieties, farm each plot individually, and emphasize the grape variety without unnecessary complication in the cellar. Barbera d'Asti is the appellation at the centre of the range, a denomination that covers the hills of Asti and Alessandria provinces and produces Barbera with deep colour, firm acidity, and a naturally juicy palate.
Where it grows
Monferrato is Piemonte's quieter wine country. North lies Barolo and Barbaresco territory; here the grape is Barbera rather than Nebbiolo, and the landscape is gentler, the soils a mix of calcareous clay and limestone. UNESCO added the Monferrato hills to its World Heritage list alongside Barolo's Langhe in 2014, recognizing the continuous relationship between viticulture and the hill villages that shape this part of Piemonte.
Montegrosso d'Asti is a small commune within the Barbera d'Asti DOCG zone, which requires a minimum of 90 percent Barbera in any wine carrying the appellation name. The Monferrato soils give Barbera here good depth.
How it is made
The cellar
Every vineyard at La Meridiana has what the estate calls its own recipe. Canopy management, harvest timing, and treatment decisions are set plot by plot, not applied uniformly.
In the cellar, the aim is clarity. The estate's stated objective is to express the grape variety without unnecessary complication, which in practice means minimal intervention between fruit and bottle. Le Quattro Terre is raised in concrete, a vessel that preserves primary fruit character without adding oak influence or oxidative texture. Bricco Sereno goes into French oak barriques for roughly a year after an initial period in another vessel, long enough to integrate oak character without losing Barbera's natural acidity and fruit depth.
What they make
The range centres on Barbera d'Asti in two distinct expressions.
Le Quattro Terre is the estate's concrete-aged Barbera d'Asti, built for relatively immediate drinking. For the 2022 vintage, the suggested ageing window is three to five years. Alcohol varies by vintage.
Wines to try
First bottle
Le Quattro Terre is the right first bottle. It is a Barbera d'Asti raised in concrete, which means no wood character complicates the reading: what arrives in the glass is the grape and the Monferrato hills without interference. The 2022 vintage has a suggested ageing window of three to five years.