Strette

Family roots and the rediscovery of Nascetta

The project grew from Giuliana and Giulio Daniele’s attachment to their land, vineyards and wine. They passed that interest to their sons, Mauro and Savio Daniele, who both trained as oenologists, first in Alba and subsequently in Turin. Savio first encountered Nascetta at the Scuola Enologica di Alba in the late 1980s. He later tasted a small vinification made by a Novello grower related to his wife, prompting the brothers to commit themselves to the nearly forgotten local variety.

During the early 1990s, work began on the recovery of a traditional brick cellar in the Le Strette hamlet, excavated directly into the local tuff, together with small vineyards at Bergera. This period coincided with Novello’s broader campaign to recover Nascetta from the few surviving vines and very small old vineyards scattered through the municipality.

1997: foundation and first vinifications

Le Strette was founded in Novello in 1997 by Mauro and Savio Daniele with the help of Giuliana and Giulio, Savio’s father-in-law Gino Lagorio and the Lagorio family. The name comes from the old hamlet where the winery stands: a very narrow lane threads between historic houses before opening toward the Barolo hills, the plain and the Alps.

The first production comprised small lots of Nebbiolo destined for Barolo, Barbera, Dolcetto and Nascetta. Nascetta was not yet entered in the Registro Nazionale delle Varietà di Vite, so the brothers’ experimental white could only be sold under a generic designation.

1999–2001: the first Nascetta release and legal recognition

In 1999 Le Strette released its first 800 bottles of “Nas-cëtta–Vino da tavola bianco.” Le Strette and Elvio Cogno were then the only two commercial Nascetta labels in Novello. The estate remained closely involved in the scientific, administrative and regulatory work needed to bring the variety out of its unofficial status.

On 7 November 2001 the ministerial decree registering Nascetta B. as number 362 in the national vine-variety register was transmitted to the Municipality of Novello. Registration authorized its cultivation and allowed the existing wines to move from generic white table wine to Langhe DOC, although the grape name still could not be printed officially on the label.

2002–2010: work toward a Novello denomination

On 28 August 2002 the Municipality of Novello established a working group to pursue formal recognition and a denomination for Nascetta. Savio Daniele represented the producer-winemakers in that group. A production-and-use protocol for the collective Nas-cëtta mark followed in 2003. In 2004 Savio was appointed as one of the producer representatives on the municipal tasting commission responsible for checking wines seeking permission to use the mark.

A renewed special commission was formed on 10 February 2006 to continue the technical and administrative work for a territorially defined “Nascetta di Novello” or “Nas-cëtta di Novello” denomination; Savio again represented the producers. In March 2007 he was elected to the board of the Consorzio di Tutela as a Le Strette producer of Langhe-denominated Nas-cëtta, giving the Novello producers representation during negotiations over the proposed denomination.

The application reached the Consorzio on 3 June 2009. On 24 July the regional committee declined to create an autonomous DOC because the planted Nascetta area was considered too small, but recommended recognizing Novello through a subzone of Langhe DOC. On 27 July the Consorzio submitted a revised proposal protecting wines made entirely from Nascetta grown in Novello and two adjoining portions of Barolo and Monforte d’Alba.

A ministerial decree dated 21 January 2010, published on 29 January, created the Langhe Nascetta del Comune di Novello or Nas-cëtta del Comune di Novello subzone. The result concluded almost two decades of productive, scientific and institutional work in which Le Strette had acted as one of the pioneering producers.

The new cellar and a less invasive approach

Four years after the first 1997 production, work began on a new winery. Built into and visually screened by the hillside, it was conceived around sustainability and divided into four connected but distinct working areas following the progression from grapes to finished bottles. Over time, the brothers refined their technical knowledge toward increasingly restrained vinification and greater respect for the fruit.

The estate’s formal sustainability path brought UNI 11233 certification in 2012. In 2017 Le Strette was among the early Italian wineries to adopt SQNPI, the nationally recognized integrated-production quality system.

2014–2019: Progetto PASINOT®

In 2014 Le Strette purchased approximately 5 ha on the Pasinotti hill, including abandoned old vineyards and truffle woodland overlooking the steep rocche. About 1 ha of former vineyard was restored. Progetto PASINOT® was designed to identify the hill’s historical Nascetta character, protect the genetic diversity of old Novello vines and explore the expression of Nebbiolo just beyond the Barolo DOCG boundary.

Working with Dr Stefano Raimondi of CNR–IPSP, the estate selected and propagated 29 healthy old Nascetta vines from three Novello vineyards, including the oldest Pasinotti planting. The resulting collection vineyard contains approximately 750 vines. Selection took place in 2014–2016, while new planting was carried out in 2015–2016.

The 2015 harvest produced the first PASINOT® release: 500 bottles made solely from the historic old vineyard. Restored vineyards entered production with the 2018 harvest, establishing Langhe Nas-cëtta del Comune di Novello DOC PASINOT® in its intended form. In 2019 the estate vinified Pasinotti Nebbiolo separately for the first time, adding Nebbiolo d’Alba DOC PASINOT® to the project.

2021 and the present generation

Mauro Daniele died at the end of July 2021 after a long illness. His death removed one of Le Strette’s founders and central figures. Savio continued the family project with his daughter Ludovica, whose humanities background supports those areas of the business connected with her studies. Their work preserves the shared direction established by Mauro and Savio: native grapes, vineyard identity, quality, family continuity and respect for nature.

Le Strette’s approximately 6.5 ha of vineyards lie in the municipalities of Novello and, in part, Barolo. The landscape opens from the Barolo hills toward the plain, with the Alps forming the distant backdrop. The vineyards occupy calcareous hillsides whose varying proportions of clay and sand, elevation, slope and exposure distinguish the individual sites.

Pasinotti lies on the southern side of Novello, only a few metres beyond the Barolo DOCG boundary. Its calcareous soil and south-facing, sunny exposure suit both Nascetta and Nebbiolo. The acquired property includes steep rocche and truffle woodland as well as former vineyard land.

Bergera-Pezzole stands at 400–420 m and receives strong sunlight. Its calcareous soil alternates between more sandy and more clay-rich infiltrations. Corini-Pallaretta is likewise calcareous but has a more pronounced clay component relative to sand. Tarditi lies at approximately 350 m. In Barolo, Bergeisa is a steep, well-exposed calcareous slope at 280 m.

The broader Novello setting is described through Tortonian calcareous-clay marl, predominantly south- and southwest-facing vineyards and marked differences between daytime and nighttime temperatures. Within the Barolo zone, sedimentary marine marls are variously infiltrated by clay and sand, allowing elevation, exposure and soil composition to create distinct expressions from one vineyard to another.

Le Strette has followed an ecological and rational model based on integrated agriculture from the beginning. Biological techniques and technically targeted interventions are combined to reduce or eliminate chemical inputs. Treatments are managed according to actual plant-protection requirements and reduced to the minimum considered necessary, while soil fertility and equilibrium are maintained through natural means.

The sustainability programme received certification under UNI 11233 in 2012. Since 2017 the estate has operated under the Sistema di Qualità Nazionale di Produzione Integrata (SQNPI), applying regional agronomic protocols recognized within the European system. The programme is intended to protect the environment, natural resources, the surrounding ecosystem and food safety. Grapes and wine undergo multiresidue analyses to verify compliance and final-product safety.

At Pasinotti, biodiversity conservation extends to the genetic heritage of Nascetta. Mass selection identified 29 healthy old vines in three Novello vineyards, including the 1948 Pasinotti planting. Their propagated material formed a collection vineyard of approximately 750 vines, preserving diversity rather than relying on a single clonal selection. The same project restored about 1 ha of land that had historically been planted to vines.

Winery layout

The original working space was a brick cellar excavated into the local tuff. Construction of a new winery began four years after the first 1997 production. The new building is integrated into and visually screened by the hillside. Its four connected but clearly separated work areas follow the progression from grape transformation to finished bottle, combining rapid workflow, functional equipment, order and cleanliness.

Fermentation and maturation

Crushed grapes ferment in stainless-steel tanks under closely monitored natural processes intended to preserve the balance created in the vineyard. Nas-cëtta del Comune di Novello and Dolcetto remain in steel until bottling. Barbera, Langhe Nebbiolo and Barolo move to a dedicated wood-maturation room. Bottles complete their maturation in a separate bottle-storage area before labelling and release.

Technical development has progressively moved toward less invasive vinification and greater respect for the grapes. The objective is to retain differences among native varieties, vintages and individual vineyards rather than impose a uniform style. Grapes and finished wines are also subjected to multiresidue analysis as part of the integrated-production programme.