Gianluca Colombo
Piedmont -- Barolo DOCG
Winemakers are often described as “fanatical.” Particularly in its over-use, the term tends to conjure notions of discipline that elevate the technical, even the ascetic, over the inspirational: process over ideas, technique over imagination, consistency over soul. Not so with Gianluca Colombo. His fanaticism is obvious almost immediately upon meeting him, but it derives from his limitless energy and single-minded devotion to farming the vineyards he has pieced together over the last decade across the Barolo zone. A pioneer in Roddi, the northern reaches of Barolo, Gianluca is cutting a path that re-imagines the work of the Langhe, dispensing with dogma in search of a new classicism in the zone.
This work, of course, begins in the vineyards–none of which has arrived through generations-long inheritance, he is quick to note; he is in fact a self-made farmer and winemaker. One of just five certified biodynamic farmers in the entire zone, Gianluca works tirelessly in these sites, rearing animals and planting diverse flora. His holdings include Bricco Ambrogio, the most famous site in his small Roddi subzone (pure and detailed fruit here), and the renowned Ravera, a higher-elevation zone across the appellation in Novello (yielding bracing, muscular, yet transparent Nebbiolo). Plots in Verduno and La Morra–the latter an area he is often quite dubious about–as well as various vineyards of Pinot Nero, Dolcetto, Barbera, and even Pelaverga Piccolo round out his holdings.
Winemaking is of course the job of a winemaker: that is, to take the rigorously tended fruits of a harvest and to give them the opportunity to express themselves without reservation. Here Gianluca’s approach is both methodical and quite radical. He is intent on understanding the dynamics of the fruit that comes in, beginning with careful assessment of soils, rainfall, etc at harvest. He is a voracious consumer of data regarding the vintage conditions and harvest. But he is also apt to break with some long-held traditions in the zone, particularly the prevailing ideology of winemaking, one which unlike farming rarely takes account of a radically changing climate. As such, wines are all fermented separately; but some see cappello sommerso fermentations, others do not. Nebbiolo is macerated for healthy but not over-long periods (25-55 days depending on the vintage). Wines are aged in 20-35hl Slavonian botti, but also see extended elevage in terracotta and concrete rather than further time in wood.
Gianluca’s fanatical aim, whether for Nebbiolo or Barbera (the latter is particularly special to him), Pelaverga or Pinot Nero, are wines of utmost transparency. In his various roles, he has built a serious reputation for himself and his work across the Langhe, but his own project is one that is small-scale and deeply personal– indeed small enough that he is willing to put his own fingerprint on the labels. We are so proud to represent these wines which, through their fanatical labors, clearly articulate their origins while pointing toward an exciting future for the Langhe.
Available Wines:
Langhe Pinot Nero
Verduno Pelaverga
Barbera d’Alba Superiore
Langhe Nebbiolo
Barolo DOCG (Bricco Ambrogio, Ravera, Roere)
Gianluca in the Ravera Cru, 2023