The vineyards of Marchesi di Grésy have an ancient history; those that surround Villa Giulia, the family''s hunting lodge on the Monte Aribaldo date back to Roman times. The di Grésy family also have a history in the region, one that includes viticulture, although it wasn''t until the early 1970''s that the family business underwent the metamorphosis that produced Marchesi di Grésy as we know it today. That evolution was down to Alberto di Grésy.
Alberto di Grésy was Milanese, and graduated from the Bocconi University with a Doctorate in Business Administration. During his student days he spent much time at Villa Giulia, the lodge built by his grandfather in the 19th Century. On the family estate there was agriculture and viticulture, although the grapes grown were sold off, as they had been for generations. It was Alberto that developed the business of the estate, moving from selling their grapes to local producers to vinification and bottling their own wines, beginning in 1973. Since then the family estate has expanded somewhat, with the purchase of vineyards at Martinenga and La Serra. At the original Monte Aribaldo estate in Treiso d''Alba there are now Dolcetto and Chardonnay vineyards, whilst the portfolio front-runners are made at the Martinenga estate, where the vineyards are primarily Nebbiolo, with Barbera and Cabernet Sauvignon, together with Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. At La Serra, the di Grésy family are fully occupied with the production of Moscato d''Asti.
Although the first di Grésy foothold in Piedmont was undoubtedly the Monte Aribaldo estate, it is the Martinenga vineyards that now have most significance. The buildings here are surrounded by vineyards that radiate outward, the majority being the Martinenga vineyard itself, which stretches up the hillside to the east at 280 m above sea level (catching the sun in the picture above), although at the western end are vineyards of Cabernet Sauvignon (here in the shade) as well as Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay (down by the river). From the Nebbiolo vineyards come the three most significant di Grésy wines, all Barbaresco; Martinenga, Camp Gros and Gaiun. The vineyard lies over 11 ha of Piedmontese hillside with a predominantly southern exposure, with soils of desirable blue marl. The majority of Nebbiolo harvested goes towards the Barbaresco Martinenga, with the northernmost vines of two blocks at the eastern end earmarked for Barbaresco Camp Gros, and a plot for the Barbaresco Gaiun sandwiched between the estate buildings and the Chardonnay vineyard. All of the three main Barbaresco''s see temperature-controlled fermentation with some plunging of the cap during the last five or so days, followed by malolactic. The Martinenga is initially aged in French 225 litre barriques for six months, followed by Slovenian oak casks of a massive 5000 litre capacity for fourteen months, before ten months in bottle. The Camp Gros is managed in much the same way, although finishing with 2500 litre oak casks, whereas the Barbaresco Gaiun, produced only in select vintages, sees a whopping twenty months in French oak. The di Grésy portfolio does not, however, end with a few bottles of Barbaresco. There are also local ''traditional'' styles, such as Barbera and Dolcetto d''Alba, sitting with bottles which are much more international in style, such as a Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay (individually, as well as blended), and a varietal Merlot.
In October 2004 I dined with Jeff Chilcott, the New Zealand-born winemaker at Marchesi di Grésy. The evening was memorable for a number of occasions. Firstly, there was no dessert wine, thanks to a cock-up at the wholesalers who had sent along the wrong bottles. Promised a bottle by Jeff Chilcott, I gave up hope when, after several weeks, it never materialised. But a month or two later I found a single bottle, thankfully well packaged and protected, as it had been thrown over my side-gate, and I have absolutely no idead how long it had lain there. Fortunately it survived, despite being thrown over an eight-foot-high fence onto flags, and having weathered the elements for what must have been several weeks (the packaging was beginning to look pretty tatty). Secondly, although the food was very good indeed the wines were, on the whole, not top-flight; in this instance, I will let my tasting notes do the talking. (24/11/05)
Contact details:
Address: Via Rabajà 43, Barbaresco
Telephone: +39 0173 635221
Fax: +39 0173 635187
Internet: www.marchesidigresy.com
