The history of Cascina Borgatta began in 1948 by Italo Barizzone established the farm in the small commune of Tagliolo Monferrato, where today only about 1,400 people call it home. Two of those folks, Emilio Oliveri and his wife Maria Luisa Barizzone, have dedicated their lives entirely to the love of the vineyards they inherited from her father Italo in the early days of the 1980s. It is here, at the gates of Ovada in the infamous area of Alto Monferrato, where Dolcetto is known to grow best.

The territory of Monferrato is cut in two by the Tanaro River, which fractionally divides Piedmont from Liguria. The northern part of Monferrato, Basso Monterrato (basso = lower), lies between the Tanaro and the Po Rivers and is an area of rolling hills and plains. The southern part, Alto Monferrato (alto = high), rises from the banks of the Tanaro into the mountains of the Apennines.

Respect, Respect, Respect- for the soil, vine, and process of making wine. Emilio and Marie Luisa learned this early on from Italo, they started assisting him in the 1960s, and together, have many vintages under their hats. When the great Italo passed in the early 80s, they moved to the farm of Borgatta and carried on his great legacy. With three hectares of native vines of Dolcetto and Barbera grown in the silt-sandy soil, they took the baton of Italo's memory. They carried it intact to today by way of natural, authentic, complete, and intense wines.

The red wines of Cascina Borgatta are soil-driven wines- with structure and intensity that are well-suited for aging and fabulous for prompt consumption. The Barbera “La Borgatta” and the Dolcetto “La Milla” are perfect expressions of the land on which Cascina Borgatta stands. You get wines with full and soft fruity notes and refined spiciness. More so, they remain wines of great honesty and cleanliness. What you don’t get is what became the normal of the area for many years- ostentatious stiff wines that lack nuance and fluidity.

Thankfully, the two farmers, both in their seventies, (‘my wife is not young,’ jokes Emilio) are still working with youthful stubbornness and phenomenal pride, continuing their rebellion against the forced, manipulated wine style they saw through the years. Since day one they implemented strict biological management with minimal tillage and interventions only with their hands and a bit of copper when needed. Preserving history one vine at a time, these two stewards of the land are the pioneers of organic agriculture in the region, farming for over a half-century in the same way with no assistance from anyone or anything except Mother Nature.

We became aware of Cascina Borgatta in the summer of 2019. We traveled to see them and were instantly intoxicated by the wines and even more so by them. They are kind and generous people who warmly welcomed us in, told us their story, and presented us with a most lovely lunch—made in whole by Maria Luisa. And the wines sung! Oh, and did we forget—they also are dog lovers.

HARVEST: Manually

VINIFICATION: spontaneous fermentation by indigenous yeasts inside insulating concrete tanks. The refinement phase is carried out in stainless steel without clarification or filtration.

Cascina Borgatta is a member of VinNatur 

CLASSIFICATION/DOC:  They stepped away from the Ovada DOC many years ago because they had conflicting views.

Who:
Emilio Oliveri and his wife Maria Luisa Barizzone

Winemaker: Emilio Oliveri

Where:
Tagliolo Monferrato • Piedmont, Italy

Founded: 1948

Orientation: Southwest

Land:
4 hectares, with 3 planted / 350 m. above sea level

Average age of the vines:
35 years on average

Soil: Calcareous-tufaceous

Training System: Guyot

Grapes:   Dolcetto + Barbera

Appellation: -

Viticulture: Organic certification

Harvest:  By hand

Annual Production: Only 9,000

The VinNatur Association
brings together winemakers from around the world who want to defend the integrity of their territory while respecting the history, culture, and art handed down over time.
Producing natural wine means respecting the soil, the environment,and the natural cycle of life and eliminating the use of invasive and toxic agents.
First in the vineyard and then in the cellar.

Cascina Borgatta | "La Milla"

What a deliciously fruity and rustic profile!
Emilio and Maria Luisa Oliveri are the lively managers of Cascina Borgatta, who still work on their land inherited from her father.

GRAPE: 100% Dolcetto
AGE OF VINEYARD: average age 40 years
ALTITUDE: 350 m above sea level.
SOIL: silty-sand
TRAINING SYSTEM: spurred cordon
HARVEST: the grapes are harvested and sorted by hand.
VINIFICATION: spontaneous fermentation by indigenous yeasts inside insulating concrete tanks.  In cement tanks, maceration on the skins for 20 days. No clarification or filtration is made.
AGING: A few months in second or third passage barrique

"La Milla" is an authentic style of Dolcetto with a fruity and rustic profile—scent fruits with cherry and ripe plum notes, spice- cinnamon, cloves, and cumin. The taste is soft, complete, and intense, exceptionally supple and elegant.  Balanced tannins.

BOTTLE SIZE: 750 ml
PACK: 12
CLOSURE: Cork
ALC BY VOL(%): 14
LONGEVITY: 10 years
SKU:

Cascina Borgatta

Tagliolo Monferrato ( AL)

[📸 credits: Cascina Borgatta]