Barbaresco Riserva DOCG 'Santo Stefano Albesani' 2015 (750 ml.) Castello di Neive

THE WINE

The Barbaresco Riserva DOCG Santo Stefano Albesani 2015 from Castello di Neive embodies the essence of one of the Langhe’s most prestigious crus. The 2015 vintage, marked by a warm but balanced summer and a dry September with strong temperature shifts, allowed a full maturation of Nebbiolo, enhancing elegance and aromatic complexity. After 6 months in steel, 18 in French oak, and 6 in glass, it releases notes of ripe cherry, violet, licorice, and sweet spices. On the palate it is sumptuous, velvety, with silky tannins and long persistence, showing strong aging potential. Perfect with braised meats, game, Piedmont dishes, and aged cheeses, it is a bottle of rare refinement, also ideal as an unforgettable gift.

THE COMPANY

The Stupino siblings - Anna, Giulio, Italo, and Piera - are the owners of the Castle and about 60 hectares of land in Neive. They were all born at Neive As well as the parents, the grandparents, and the great-grandparents. The history of the company begins when their father, Giacomo, starts to make use of his experience as a surveyor and great connoisseur of the area, acquiring, where possible, land and vineyards in the best locations.

In the small cellars of the old Stupino house, the first production of wine for domestic consumption and bulk sale begins. Messoirano, Montebertotto, Basarin, Valtorta, I Cortini: the number of farms and vineyards purchased by Giacomo increases, as does production. And so, in 1964, the castle is acquired along with its spacious cellars and the farms Santo Stefano and Marcorino, as well as other lands that belonged to Count Guido Riccardi Candiani. This is the turning point that drives the organization of the winery, the renovation of the vineyards left to overgrowth by the old owner, and the production of wine using modern methods.

At the death of Giacomo in 1970, Giulio and Italo oversee the transformation from sharecropping to direct management of the properties, with the valuable assistance of Talin Brunettini, a skilled cellar master and expert in agronomic techniques. Thus begins the first bottling and the introduction of wines from the Castello di Neive in the world. In 1978, another great milestone: thanks to the collaboration between Italo and some prominent figures from the Faculty of Agriculture in Turin - Professors Italo Eynard and Annibale Gandini - the clonal selection of Arneis begins, a grape that had been abandoned and was almost unknown, of which the rediscovery... Castello di Neive played a central role.

In recent years, Italo has been directly and fully committed to the management of the company under the brand "Castello di Neive Farm Company": a commitment that seems to follow a premonition conveyed by the old photo (pre-war!) in which Grandpa Mentore shows him a bunch of grapes. The development of markets, especially foreign ones, has made it necessary to transform all the grapes from our vineyards. The spacious cellars of the castle could no longer accommodate such operations, so we decided, in the spring of 2012, to move the production operations, along with the machinery and stainless steel tanks, to a new technical structure - Cantina 2 - with a rational layout, concentrating all the large and small wooden barrels for aging wines in the castle's cellars."

Following a drastic restructuring and the refurbishment of the service systems.

THE PRODUCTIVE PHILOSOPHY

The mental framework acquired at the Polytechnic University of Turin, along with activities in other sectors, has led Italo to a 'scientific' approach to farming and viticulture. Tradition is important, but one should not take everything for granted. Doubt, research, comparison, synthesis. In this way, since the 1970s (with the 'rediscovery' work of Arneis mentioned in relation to the Montebertotto vineyard), the proximity and collaboration with the Faculty of Agriculture in Turin have allowed Italo to enter the world of vines and wine through the right door, preparing him to face the challenges and changes of an ever-evolving market.

Tradition, research, and creativity: this is the philosophy of a company that, without neglecting centuries of experience in the field of viticulture, embraces new technologies, is committed to research – both in the vineyard and in the cellar – and is ready to take risks by courageously experimenting with new methods. It is this enthusiasm and creative energy that have given rise in recent years to some new and stimulating experiences: starting from 1995, the company has produced a fabulous classic method sparkling wine obtained exclusively from grapes. pinot black, the 'Castello di Neive Classic', in addition to the 'Castello di Neive Passito made from dried Arneis grapes. Starting from 1996, the company created two wines aged in barriques - 'I Cortini', made from grapes. pinot black, and 'Barbera d'Alba Superiore', from barbera grapes; since 2006, Albarossa has also been produced.

THE PEOPLE

The collaboration between the Castle and the Faculty of Agriculture of Turin continues to this day with Professors Vincenzo Gerbi and Silvia Guidoni, to whose research, in the cellar and in the vineyard, we provide maximum support, convinced that there is still much to study and discover about the vine and wine.

In this action, the consultations of the winemaker Gianfranco are of great assistance. Cordero and the agronomist Dino Bevione. The ultimate authority is the winemaker Claudio Roggero and his right-hand man Marco Ion.

In other words, this is the guiding idea and this is the team of Castello di Neive that puts it into action.

The promotion of the wines produced, in Italy and abroad, is directly managed by Italo Stupino with the support of his daughter Carolina.

THE CASTLE

At the beginning of the 1700s, Count Castelborgo, lawyer Manfredo Bongioanni, decided to build the new castle on foundations dating back to the 1500s/1600s. The imposing structure occupies the southwest boundary of what was the medieval refuge of... Neive and a defensive wall (1750) with watchtowers connects the castle and the gardens to the South Gate of the town, known as San Rocco (from the votive chapel of the 15th-17th century located just outside the village enclosure).

The construction took several years, and a completion date can be established in 1753, the year of the inauguration of the beautiful internal chapel, as indicated by a plaque inside the chapel itself. The baroque altar, rich in marbles, is remarkable and quite unusual in a private residence. The castle's cellars – where the production and bottling of wine still take place – were built with this function in mind. They indeed have a considerable height to allow for the use of large barrels. In these cellars, serving the Count of Castelborgo, worked the winemaker and merchant. Louis Oudart who equipped the winery and who, for the first time in the area, produced a dry, stable wine with the nebbiolo grapes, which was marketable, bearing the name 'NeiveHe won a gold medal at the London Exhibition of 1862. With the same techniques used by Oudart for the 'NeiveThirty years later it was produced in the castle of Barbaresco the first Barbaresco...if it had not been so, Neive Today it would enjoy much greater fame!

The rest of the structure is partly intended for the residence of the Stupino brothers and partly for representation: one can see the hall with early 19th-century decorations in the Empire style of the Return from Egypt, the music room, the dining room, and the gallery.