Bric Cenciurio

Family origins and the Monrobiolo planting

Bric Cenciurio takes its name from an old family vineyard in a historically cultivated part of Roero. The family’s viticultural background predates the present business, and the agricultural practices followed today were passed down through parents and grandparents.

In 1960, eleven rows were planted at Monrobiolo di Bussia, in the historic heart of the Barolo denomination. This small planting later became one of the estate’s individually identified vineyard holdings.

The union of the Barolo and Roero properties

In 1990, Franco Pittatore and his brother-in-law Carlo Sacchetto combined their respective properties in Barolo and Roero. Their purpose was to establish a family project devoted to high-quality wine made in accordance with inherited traditions.

During the early 1990s, the families planted their first vineyard for the new venture at Bric Cenciurio in Roero. The site became both the starting point of the enterprise and the source of its name. Arneis was planted there, linking the new project to the experience of the founders and to their continuing study of the variety.

The next generation

Management subsequently passed to Franco Pittatore’s sons, Alessandro and Alberto Pittatore. They continued working the family-owned vineyards in Barolo, Novello, Castellinaldo and Magliano Alfieri. Their oenological studies and continuing research were added to the agricultural knowledge inherited from earlier generations.

The brothers retained manual vineyard work and reserved part of the family land as natural woodland. This choice limits the expansion of production while supporting biodiversity and the microclimates surrounding the vineyards.

The new Barolo cellar

A new cellar was inaugurated in Barolo in 2020. It was conceived as an environment in which the family could develop its existing work and pursue new projects. The occasion was marked by the estate’s first traditional-method sparkling-wine project.

Barolo and Roero

The estate’s vineyard geography joins Barolo and Roero, with additional holdings identified in Novello, Castellinaldo and Magliano Alfieri. The sites encompass different soils, exposures and elevations. Barolo contributes marl-based ground, while the Roero sites include sand as well as mixed clay-and-sand soils. Roero’s climate is described as dry, supporting freshness and aromatic intensity in the fruit.

A pair of small Riesling vineyards illustrates this contrast directly: one grows in the marls of Barolo and the other in the sands of Roero. Nebbiolo likewise comes from both areas, whose different soils and climates contribute distinct aromatic components and balance.

Ancient seabeds and fossil-bearing soils

Several Roero sites retain the geological imprint of ancient seabeds. The vineyard associated with Sito dei Fossili has grown for more than three decades in fossil-rich former seabed deposits that record marine life from millions of years ago.

The undulating vineyard used for Naunda was shaped by an ancient seabed and the action of rainfall. Its sandy surface conceals a clay layer reached by the deep roots of vines more than 70 years old.

Monrobiolo di Bussia

Monrobiolo di Bussia consists of eleven rows planted in 1960 in a secluded position within the historic heart of the Barolo denomination. Its compact, limestone-rich soil and mild microclimate permit slow, gradual ripening.

Coste di Rose

Coste di Rose lies close to the centre of Barolo but occupies a secluded position with a relatively cool exposure. Woodland at the top of the hill shelters the vines during the hottest summers. The soils are deep, compact and rich in organic matter. Roots penetrate them with difficulty before reaching the microelements that contribute to the site’s character.

Bric Cenciurio

The historic Bric Cenciurio site is in Roero. Its particular soil and microclimate support Arneis and also contribute part of the estate’s Pinot Nero production. The site supplied the name of the family enterprise and was the location of its first vineyard planting in the early 1990s.

All vineyard operations are carried out manually, with the same standard of care applied across the different holdings. The present generation preserves agricultural practices learned from parents and grandparents while refining them through oenological studies and continuing research.

Part of the family land is maintained as natural woodland rather than converted into additional productive acreage. The resulting limitation on production is an intentional trade-off in favour of biodiversity and suitable vineyard microclimates. At Coste di Rose, woodland at the summit of the hill also provides practical protection during the hottest summers.

Low yields and selective work are explicitly central to the Castellinaldo Barbera vineyard. The vineyard supplying Naunda is naturally low yielding because its vines are more than 70 years old; their deep roots pass through the sandy surface into the underlying clay. Every vineyard is treated according to its own conditions rather than through a uniform production formula.

The family inaugurated its new cellar in Barolo in 2020, creating a dedicated environment for the continued development of its projects.

Cellar work follows the same principle applied in the vineyards: respect for the grapes as raw material and for their natural pace. Intervention is kept restrained where appropriate, allowing natural fermentation and maturation to convey the character already present in the fruit. Individual phases of vinification and maturation are adjusted to the condition of the grapes in each vintage, without forcing them into a predetermined expression. The central objective is preservation—retaining the freshness, aromatic detail, finesse and balance derived from the different sites.