History
Portfolio development
Le Coccinelle was Agricola Brandini’s first white wine, created by bringing the local Arneis variety together with Viognier. Alta Langa Brut subsequently joined the range as the estate’s traditional-method sparkling expression, using high-altitude fruit from San Giorgio Scarampi and Benevello. Dates are not attached to either milestone.
2015 — completion of the Barolo site selection
In 2015 Agricola Brandini completed the selection of four Barolo crus: Brandini, presented under the R56 name, and Annunziata in La Morra, together with Meriame and Cerretta in Serralunga d’Alba. The same year was the first Cerretta harvest. That vintage began the estate’s direct exploration of the MGA’s clay-and-limestone soil and its structured, assertively tannic expression.
Spring 2023 — hospitality project
Coltivare Agri-Relais opened in spring 2023 as Agricola Brandini’s hospitality project. It added guest rooms and a new restaurant to the estate experience.
2024 — Alta Langa Consortium and Slow Wine
By September 2024 Agricola Brandini was a member of the Alta Langa Consortium. The estate framed its participation as a long-term commitment to the denomination, its territory and a production method founded on time and careful work.
In the same year, the Slow Wine guide awarded Agricola Brandini the estate-level distinction La Bottiglia. Barolo Meriame 2020 also received a wine-specific Top Wine distinction.
Terroir
Agricola Brandini’s 18 ha of vineyards are distributed among La Morra, Serralunga d’Alba, Alba, Benevello and Lequio Berria. The estate treats this geographic spread as a means of working with sites that have markedly different characteristics and expressions.
In La Morra, the Brandini MGA surrounds the cellar. Its microclimate combines altitude and ventilation, while its soils contain clay and sand. La Morra’s soils also have a sandy component associated with a finer, silkier expression of Nebbiolo. Annunziata lies at mid-slope altitude, while the vineyards used for Barolo del Comune di La Morra occupy western-facing slopes.
Meriame and Cerretta are in Serralunga d’Alba. Cerretta has clay-and-limestone soil. The Meriame site is presented as historically well suited to Nebbiolo and as a source of structure and power.
The high-altitude sparkling-wine sites extend into the Alta Langa hills. Fruit from San Giorgio Scarampi and Benevello is grown at approximately 500–650 m, depending on the cuvée, while the Chardonnay site associated with Blanc de Blancs 655 is in Lequio Berria at 655 m. These elevations are linked to freshness and acidity.
Winemaking
Organic cultivation is treated as a way of life rather than merely a production method. Its stated purpose is to leave the soil in better condition than it was found, while respecting the land, vineyard workers and consumers.
The vineyards are managed with close attention and restraint, with the objective of obtaining the best possible grapes while preserving the distinct expression of each site. In the Brandini MGA, substantial crop reduction is part of the work used to concentrate the remaining fruit. The high-altitude Chardonnay for Blanc de Blancs 655 is harvested at the beginning of September.
Production is conceived as an unbroken process from vineyard to bottle. The transformation of grapes into wine is followed at every stage by the estate’s enologists, combining the traditions of the Langa with modern cellar technology. The central objective is quality and the removal of anything considered superfluous, so that the wines retain a clear relationship with their places of origin.
Large wooden casks are central to the estate’s Barolo program. Barolo is matured in large-format vessels to preserve the distinctions among Brandini, Annunziata, Meriame, Cerretta and the broader La Morra blend. Stainless-steel tanks with temperature control are used for fermentation across the range, and malolactic conversion for the red wines takes place in steel before transfer to wood.
White and sparkling-wine production uses temperature-controlled, gentle pressing. For Alta Langa Blanc de Blancs 655, a dedicated press works slowly under vacuum to limit oxidation. The estate also employs bottle fermentation and extended lees ageing for Alta Langa, stainless steel for fresh white-wine styles, and 500 L French-oak tonneaux for selected Viognier lots.
Philosophy
Agricola Brandini defines organic farming as a way of living and working rather than simply a production protocol. Its environmental objective is to pass on soils in better condition, while extending respect to the land, the people working in the vineyards and the people drinking the wines. The estate acknowledges that following this ideal can require choosing a more difficult course.
The winemaking philosophy joins Langa tradition to contemporary technology. The stated aim is to remove the superfluous and produce wines that express their territories, with quality pursued continuously from vineyard to bottle. Differences among individual soils and microclimates are treated as essential rather than something to be standardized. This is reflected particularly in the selection of four Barolo MGAs and the preference for large casks, intended to retain the character carried from grapes into wine.
Wine is also understood as a means of sharing and building relationships. The Speakeasy Wine Club was created as a more private setting in which long-standing customers can become active participants in the life of the estate.