Maurizio Sanso’s family story is the history of farming in the Langhe in a nutshell. His grandparents were sharecroppers for many years, meaning that they worked the land and gave half the proceeds from grain, cows, hazelnuts and vines to the landowner. As sharecropping came to an end, they were able to buy the farmhouse and two hectares in 1975. The next generation, Leonardo and Silvana, took over the farm in 1998. They began to buy additional hectares when they could and decided to focus on grape growing, ending the period of mixed farming. Leonardo also took the challenging step of taking a loan to buy out his siblings. The main business was selling grapes. 

Meanwhile, Maurizio was following winemaking studies at Alba and became a qualified winemaker, after which he worked for a number of local firms and began to make his own wine in 2008.

“As a family, we had vineyards in a prestigious part of Barolo, but I was spending most of my time making wine for others, including much white wine across the Tanaro river in Roero, famous for Arneis.”

He came to realise that there are very few opportunities like this. In 2014, Maurizio decided to move back to his family’s farm and raise the quality of the wines of Cascina Sòt. He was joined by his sister, Lorena.  He took charge of the vineyards and a large, recently built agricultural building, which he has converted into a winery. Today, the number of hectares of vineyard has grown to 19, a large number in the context of Barolo. Thus, in two generations, the family has moved from a mixed sharecropping farm to growing grapes to sell and onto the early stages of building a high-quality wine business with its own labels.

A range of wines is made, but the emphasis is very much on the two Barolo wines, both of which use fruit from the Tantesi zone of Bricco San Pietro. Barolo del comune di Monforte d’Alba uses fruit from younger vines on a mix of limestone and clay soils. Maceration on the skins lasts for around 20 days, with the cap being managed by rack-and-return, punch downs, and pump overs. The wine is then aged for 32 months in large Slavonian oak casks. 

The fruit for Barolo Bricco San Pietro comes from a vineyard that is more than 95 years old, windy, southwest facing and with mainly limestone-based soils. The winemaking reflects this wine’s higher ambition. Maceration on the skins lasts for 25 days. 60 per cent of the wine is matured in new tonneaux and 40 per cent in second-use barriques for 28 months. 

Maurizio Sanso and his family have built on the labours of his grandfather’s generation and the astute purchasing by his father of prime vineyards that produce high-quality fruit. Now, the current generation is beginning to maximise the potential of the still-recent past.