Renato Molino is a point of connection with the grape-growing and winemaking traditions of the past. Born into a farmhouse in nearby Barolo, the family’s property was enlarged, enabling his father to buy Cascina Spluva in the hamlet of Annunziata in 1965, directly below La Morra. He has seen the transition from working almost entirely by hand (with the occasional help from a cow) to today’s small tractors designed to work in steep vineyards. Some of the early tractors that were suitable for vineyard use were of English origin, for example, those made by David Brown. From a yet earlier period, he remembers the Jeeps that were sold off for a pittance by the Americans at the end of the Second World War. However, they were only useful in hazelnut groves. In the past, sprays of copper and sulphur were mixed by hand and carried on the worker’s back in the vineyard, grass between the rows was cut by hand, and the harvested grapes were carried in heavy wooden buckets on the worker’s back. The grapes, after pressing, were tipped directly into the old concrete tanks to start the fermentation. There would have been no need to go to the gym after all the manual work in the past!
Much of the work has not changed over the decades, though today, it is aided by tractors and more sophisticated trellising in the vineyard. There has perhaps been even less change in the cellar. The selection of healthy bunches is made primarily in the vineyard. Today, the grapes are destemmed and crushed and then left to ferment in small (20 hL), old concrete tanks. (But if there are any problems, for example, if the juice has very high levels of sugar, recourse can be made to selected yeast.) Renato may be resolutely old-school but one of his daughters, Chiara, has winemaking training and works with him. She does the technical analyses they need while Renato is guided by a palate informed by a lifetime’s winemaking. The fermenting must is punched down by hand every 6–10 hours plus rack-and-return. This is the frantic period of the year as grapes are still being picked while the early batches are fermenting in the winery. Maceration on the skins lasts for a month in total as Chiara believes that with regular punch downs, little is to be gained by extending this period. A traditional basket press is used to press the skins and pips, which go to the distillery for grappa.
The wine is moved to casks in a warm room, at least 24ºC, to carry out malolactic fermentation, racked off the lees and then to Slavonian oak casks. The oak casks, on average 20 hectolitres in capacity, were the last to be crafted by third-generation artisan cask maker Bruno Arcaro, now in his 80s. The tiny winery is now crammed with small concrete and stainless steel tanks, and oak casks. This is partly because maturation in oak has been extended to between two and two-and-a-half years. The decision to bottle is made by tasting when the aromas, alcohol and acidity are in balance and the tannins have softened.
The company grows only Nebbiolo vines. The Barolo classico is a blend of fruit from vineyards around the winery in MGA Annunziata, the adjacent MGA Boiolo (both in the commune of La Morra), and MGA Villero in the commune of Castiglione Falletto. Barolo Rocche dell’Annunziata (La Morra) comes from fruit from a prized plot of 0.4 hectares of 60-year-old vines in this prestigious MGA. Both wines are marked by the gentle tannins characteristic of La Morra, with the latter showing more depth and yet longer ageing potential.
For Renato, working in the winery and the cellar today barely seems like a choice. ‘I was born in a cask’, he says. He is entirely content to tend the vines and make the wine in ways that his parents and grandparents would have recognised. The only expansion has been the recent acquisition of 0.7 ha in Berri, again in La Morra. The plot has been planted with Nebbiolo, of course. The family now awaits the decision of the region on the category of wine they will be able to make, Langhe Nebbiolo or Barolo. The quotation on the back labels perfectly summarises Renato’s approach: ‘When I started making Barolo, I remembered what my father and grandfather did, and I did the same, respecting the tradition, while adding my personal touch.’
Wines
Renato Molino Barolo
Tech sheets: 2016 | 2017
Renato Molino Barolo Rocche dell’Annunziata
Tech sheets: 2015 | 2016 | 2017