Schiavenza

  • Barolo, Piedmont, Italy
Schiavenza
  • If you are looking for a classic Serralunga Barolo that offers structure for long-term cellaring, the wines from Schiavenza are ideal candidates. Traditional in the winemaking, each Barolo is an excellent representation of its site, from the Serralunga comune bottling to Broglio, Ceretta and Prapò. The wines are rugged in nature, but never aggressive, and are beautifully made with great restraint and harmony."

    —Tom Hyland, Forbes' Best 25 Producers of Barolo

  • This is a strong set of wines from Schiavenza. The wines come across as better balanced than in the past, with a more refined approach to extraction....the wines appear to be moving in a very positive direction."

    —Antonio Galloni, Vinous, November 2019

  • I had not tasted the wines of Schiavenza in a few years and am impressed by the strides made in recent vintages."

    —Monica Larner, Wine Advocate, June 2019

Schiavenza is located in Serralunga d'Alba in the heart of Piedmont's Langhe district, celebrated for its great Barolo vineyards. The estate was founded in 1956 by the brothers Vittorio and Ugo Alessandria; the estate and surrounding area were formerly part of the Opera Pia Barolo (a castle that is kind of like the Hospices du Beaune: part educational institution and part hospital) whose vineyards were traditionally worked by sharecroppers. The local dialect for sharecropping is schiavenza. Today, the estate is run by the second-generation Alessandria sisters, Enrica and Maura, and their husbands Luciano Pira and Walter Anselma. Their holdings include 8.95 hectares in Serralunga with a small 0.5ha plot in Monforte d’Alba, and include the heralded crus Prapò, Cerretta, and Broglio.   For the last 19 years, they have also run Trattoria Schiavenza, right in the middle of the village of Serralunga. It is perennially recognized in Slow Food's Osterie d'Italia guide for its excellent traditional fare, which draws in both local winemakers and tourists. 

In the vineyard, they do not use pesticides or herbicides. Cover crops such as clover and mustard greens are planted to achieve balance and limit yields naturally. Harvest is manual and is conducted according to the phases of the moon.  In the cellar, they use only naturally occurring yeasts, and ferment the wines in cement cisterns, with 20-25 days of maceration. In terms of aging,  the wines see extended time in the traditional large 3000-3600L Slavonian oak casks called botti.  Tasting the three crus side by side, one realizes what Schiavenza is all about.  All three crus are on the east side of the Serralunga ridge, so exposures are all same, to the southeast.  Yields are more or less the same.  Cellar treatment (fermentation, length of maceration, vessel, and length of aging) is all the same.  The differences one feels have only to do with the variations in cru and vintage.  

Over the last few vintages, Schiavenza has made some subtle but effective changes in the cellar.  There is a gentler approach to extraction and when the press wine is used, it comes from their new, delicate hydraulic vertical basket press.  The length of aging in botte for the Barolos has also been reduced, coming down to around 30 months wheareas it had previously been 36+ months.  Getting the wines into bottle earlier has helped preserve the fruit for the long haul. 

For more information, please consult this excellent blog post.

Image Producer PRODUCT Description Country / Region

DB8924-21
Organic
Schiavenza Barbera d’Alba
2021
Barbera
100% Barbera from vines located in Perno in the village of Monforte d'Alba, on the right slope in front of Castiglione Falletto. The...
Italy

DB6156-22
Organic
Schiavenza Dolcetto d'Alba
2022
Dolcetto
Sourced from 2.2 hectares in different vineyards in Serralunga d’Alba, at altitudes of 370-400m. The oldest vines date back to 1965,...
Italy

DB0963-21
Organic
Schiavenza Nebbiolo Langhe
2021
Nebbiolo
From a 0.6-hectare parcel in Monforte (Perno), planted in 1998 with western exposure at 390m above sea level. The grapes were destemmed...
Italy

DB0962-18
Organic
Schiavenza Barolo Cerretta
2018
Nebbiolo
From the bricco (aka crest) of the Cerretta cru, 0.9ha at 390m altitude with a SE exposure; the soil is silty clay, highly calcareous....
Italy

DB0962-19
Organic
WS:92 VM:90
Schiavenza Barolo Cerretta
2019
Nebbiolo
From the bricco (aka crest) of the Cerretta cru, 0.9ha at 390m altitude with a SE exposure; the soil is silty clay, highly calcareous....
Italy

DB0153-19
Organic
WA:92 WS:90 VM:92
Schiavenza Barolo Broglio
2019
Nebbiolo
Broglio is Schiavenza's largest cru holding, with 1.5ha owned here.  The vineyard is located at 360 meters above sea level with a south-...
Italy

DB1990-19
Organic
WS:91
Schiavenza Barolo del Comune di Serralunga
2019
Nebbiolo
Sourced from 2.1ha of different parcels (mainly the crus of Cerrati and Meriame) all located in the village of Serralunga d'Alba, at...
Italy

DB7050-18
Organic
WS:93
Schiavenza Barolo Prapò
2018
Nebbiolo
Schiavenza’s 0.9 hectares in the Prapò cru are located at 350m above sea level, with southeast exposure; the vines were planted in 1993.  ...
Italy

DB7050-19
Organic
WA:92 WS:94 VM:94
Schiavenza Barolo Prapò
2019
Nebbiolo
Schiavenza’s 0.9 hectares in the Prapò cru are located at 350m above sea level, with southeast exposure; the vines were planted in 1993.  ...
Italy

DB4382-19
Organic
VM:94 GN:96+ WS:94
Schiavenza Barolo Perno
2019
Nebbiolo
2019 is the debut of Barolo Perno, from the Santo Stefano di Perno sub-section, facing east, with Arenarie di Diano d'Alba sandstones, more...
Italy