Crivelli
Jonathan and Sara Crivelli
Piedmont – Castagnole Monferrato DOCG
Castagnole Monferrato is a rugged, beautiful agricultural zone near Asti. There, a polyculture of grains, olives, and vines has been cultivated and perpetuated for centuries, with a natural feel that is so distant from our the speed and excess of metropolitan life–or even of the vineyard-dominated ecosystem of Barolo and Barbaresco just an hour’s drive away. Here, nature predominates, showing its uniqueness and importance in the form of two autochthonous grape varieties seen almost nowhere else: Ruchè and Grignolino. Ruchè is one of the most fascinating grape varieties I know: rich and red-fruited with an obvious but not bombastic floral tone; when you can find it it is a chameleon of a wine, with a glossy palate but a unique lift from native aromatics of the grape. Grignolino is satisfyingly tannic (its name means “little bitter one”), but with transparent fruit so clean, so clear that it is in fact refreshing, and always at the ready for another glass.
Jonathan and Sara in the hilltops, June 2023.
Of course, nature’s activities are not perfect, and these grapes both frustrate and delight farmers and winemakers. Ruchè and Grignolino are not household names because they’re not delicious; instead, it’s because they’re very difficult to manage, whether in the vineyard or the cellar. After the phylloxera epidemic of the late 19th century, when nearly all vines in the region were wiped out, what was most often replanted was Barbera, a far less finicky grape, with Ruchè in particular falling on the precipice of extinction.
Nevertheless, a few small families have persisted with these grapes, valuing these grapes not just for their expressiveness but their role in the heritage of Castagnole Monferrato. Foremost among them is the Crivelli family, led by Jonathan and his partner Sara, whose handful of hectares of Ruchè and Grignolino still make them linchpins of regional production. Indeed, the family owns one of the famous hilltops of Ruchè, old vines which make their bottling of the grape the most complex and complete that I know. All in all, Crivelli’s wines are not just a history lesson–they are living, breathing, delicious wines from a place worthy of exploration.
