Franco Rocca Cantina del Bricchetto

It is in the rolling hills of Neive that Franco Rocca has made the epicentre of his family business. Together with his wife Susan he cultivates 4.5 hectares on soil of calcareous marl. The result is a production of around 25,000 bottles per year, with his Barbaresco production being one of the smallest in the area at just 6,000 bottles. And this is what makes his wines so intriguing. As typical of the Langhe, the main varieties that Franco cultivates are Dolcetto, Barbera and Nebbiolo, and in the case of all, he does so with a care and passion. Rather than seek high yields, the preference is instead for grapes of the highest quality with around 70ql per hectare.

This rigorous philosophy in turn feeds through into the wines. On account of the fastidious attention to the grapes’ quality the production of each of his cuvées are relatively low in order to accentuate the intensity of the wines. A range of vessels are used in the cellar; fermentation in stainless steel being the immediate approach. Longer maceration is carried out in cement tanks. Ageing in turn takes place in the underground cellar in oak barrels ranging between 6,5l Slovenian barrels to 500l French and Slovenian tonneau. There is no rushing here. Everything is done fastidiously and with care. In turn, this is expressed in the wine; wines to be savoured, appreciated and given the time to display the breadth of their character.