Paitin

At Paitin, in the hills above Neive, the past is remarkably tangible. The Pasquero-Elia family has been farming here since 1796, long before Barbaresco came into being. At the heart of the estate is Serraboella, which has become synonymous with Paitin, though it is more than just a famous cru on a label. It is the landscape through which the estate’s history can be read: steep, sun-facing slopes outside Neive, planted predominantly with Nebbiolo, with the family’s historic Sori Paitin occupying one of its most favoured positions. 

Paitin released its first bottle of Barbaresco more than 50 years ago. In 1948, Secondo Pasquero-Elia took over the estate, aged just 20. In the years that followed, he replanted and selected the vines and those post-war plantings are still central to the estate today. It is difficult to think of old vines simply as an asset on a technical sheet. Their real value is more elusive. They represent continuity: generations of pruning, harvesting, frost, heat, rain and recovery, all accumulating in the character of a place. Today, Giovanni, Silvano and Luca continue the work of the generations before them. Their wines are not monuments to the past, but neither are they interested in severing themselves from it.

The estate farms organically, working without herbicides and relying on manual harvesting, mowing and traditional treatments. In the cellar, the approach is similarly restrained. Nebbiolo is fermented and macerated in stainless steel for extended periods before spending considerable time in large oak casks.