Nizza - Report 4: Il Falchetto
09 Sep 2025- Details
- Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy
Decided to spend my birthday week of 2024 in Italy, in the cradle of Barbera ... Nizza Monferrato ... exploring the wines, the vineyards and the people who make these incredible expressions of Barbera in its purest form. Over the course of 4 days, I tasted my way through a number of Piedmontese wines - focusing in on what many have called a "simple wine" ... only to discover, it is far from that. This is my fourth of five reports (missed the other three, check them out here Vinchio Vaglio - La Gironda - Prunotto):
IL FALCHETTO
Let's be honest, winemaking in Piedmont is all about the Rocche and the Bricco, vineyards and the hills; Piedmont has known the importance of single vineyards and sun exposure for a long time. This is the signature of its most famous wine, Barolo, and it is what will be the signature (one day) of Nizza. And while that day may be upon us sooner than we think, there are some producer already staking out that territory.
Il Falchetto boasts six vineyards in three territories: Santo Stefano Belbo, Agliano Terme and Calosso D'Asti. 
Tenuta Ciombo - Santo Stefano Belbo
Surrounds the winery. Soil is shallow, with a sandy surface layer crossed by a limestone vein. It alternates layers of tuffo and rock, important for the structure and the minerality of the Moscato wines made from these grapes. Part of the prestigious "Canelli" subzone.
Tenuta Marini - Santo Stefano Belbo
Crosses into two villages of Santo Stefano Belbo and Castiglione Tinella, two of the most important and historical places dedicated to the cultivation of the Moscato grapes in the subzone “Canelli”. The soil consists of sand, limestone and sandstone marls. This locale is known for its very steep ridges, and Southern exposure.
Tenuta Pian Scorrone - Agliano Terme
The soil alternates between marls and clay; calcareous and deep, with an high fraction of lime and clay. There is a strip of sand and chalk where Sauvignon Blanc grows.
Tenuta Bricco Paradiso – Roche: Agliano Terme
Situated on one of the most beautiful hills in the south part of Agliano Terme, where they produce their Nizza DOCG Riserva from the oldest plantings of Barbera. The vines have an average age of 40 years here. The soil is sandy and presents calcareous veins, clay and limestone. Juicy and long-lived Barbera, are made here, all thanks to the high acidity the grapes obtain.
Tenuta del Fant - Calosso D'Asti
This estate stands in a magnificent natural amphitheater, the soil is composed of sand and limestone, it also has some clay and marls. The area, highly prized for the cultivation of the Moscato grape, ( it is in the subzone of “Canelli” ).
Tenuta Lovetta, we tasted no wines from but they are located in the Agliano Terme region.
THE WINES ...
2023 Pian Scorrone - Barbera d'Asti (Barbera)
Fruit form a 35 year old vineyard. Lively, fresh and fruity, lots of red fruit: abundantly cherry/raspberry due to the stainless steel only winemaking. The purity of this fruit forward wine is delicious. The final wine goes through minimal filtration. Impressively fruity, but I mentioned that. (****+) 
2018 Alta Langa - Rose de Noir (Pinot Noir)
36 months on lees. Bright Pink in colour and bright acidity on the palate. Zero dosage. Pretty with notes of pomegranate and lime. (****)
2022 Lurei - Barbera d'Asti Superiore (Barbera)
4.5 hectare vineyard, 4-6 bunches per plant, 30-75 year old vines. Concentrated dark fruit, subtle smoke, spicy, with a rich mouthfeel. (****)
2021 Bricco Paradiso - Barbera d'Asti Superiore (Barbera)
Fruit picked 4.8 - 5 tons per hectare - 80% new barrique: French Allier. Big, dark, and rich. Concentrated dark fruit, while the tannins come across aggressive and they bite back ... nice long finish. (****)
2024 Tenuta del Fant - Canelli Moscato (Moscato)
Th Canelli DOCG starts in 2023 ... Pear, peach, and white flowers; this wine is made from old vines planted in 1974. (****)
2020 Alta Langa - Blanc de Blanc (Chardonnay)
36 months on lees. Good acidity, with yeasty, fresh fruit a la green apple and lime; mouth-puckering finish. (*** ½+)
2018 Bricco Roche - Nizza Riserva (Barbera)
75 year old vines - 30 months in barrel, all new. Concentrated fruit, rich, and full-bodied: spicy, blackberry, graphite, mocha, with good acid backbone. (*** ½+)
2024 Ciombo - Moscato d'Asti
Ginger, peach, pear, tropical. Yum. (*** ½+)
2022 Barbarossa Superiore (Nebbiolo)
2 year in big barrels. Oxidized fruit and smokey with notes of flowers; the acidity really sings here. (*** ½)
BONUS WINES ...
2019 Bricco Roche - Nizza Riserva (Barbera)
Very young, fresh, tons of acidity, fruit is concentrated and ripe. Really liked this version. (for sale next year)
2015 Bricco Roche - Nizza Riserva (Barbera)
Very woodsy and smoky - spiced red fruits on the mid-palate to the finish; acidity plays well on the tongue. (not for sale)
2015 Ciombo - Moscato d'Asti (Moscato)
Ginger ale nose, mineral, peach, dried flowers, touch herbal with notes of saffron. (not for sale)
2023 Ciombo - Moscato d'Asti (Moscato)
Named for the hill around the property ... pineapple, peach, nice acid, prickly, sweet pear - finishes medium-dry. My guilty pleasure with this wine-style continues. (sold out)
LUNCH - Vitello Tonato (always different / always delicious) ...
Wrapped my arms around Prunotto for the whole day today, as Emanuele Baldi invited me out to the tasting room in Bussia an hour from where I was staying. Then to lunch at Locanda del Bosco Grande to eat with the heavyweights of Nizza: Stefano Chiarlo (Michele Chiarlo) and Gianni Bertolino (Tenuta Olim Bauda) - the president and vice-president of the Nizza organization. I felt both honoured and privileged to talk Barbera with these gentlemen, pick their brains, and partake of their collective knowledge. Thank you.
