Montebruna: 25 vintages, one vineyard, one story

At Montebruna, the harvest began on 15 September, marking an important milestone for Braida: the 25th vintage from this landmark estate, entirely dedicated to Barbera.

Twenty-five vintages tell the story of much more than a wine: they tell of the relationship between a family, a hillside and the passage of time.

Montebruna was born from a dream of Giacomo Bologna, who had long wished to acquire the vineyards on the hill of the same name in Rocchetta Tanaro. At the time, the project seemed almost impossible, as the property was divided among numerous growers. From the mid-1990s, his son Giuseppe took up the idea, gradually bringing the land back together: dozens of notarial deeds and many years of work were required to consolidate the parcels that now make up this important estate.

Today, Montebruna covers a total of 30 hectares. The vineyards are planted at particularly high density, producing smaller bunches and encouraging optimal ripening.

But Montebruna is also a story of words and songs.

“Una terra che parla” is the project that grew around the vineyard and its label: the letters of its name evoke the numerous parcels brought together to recreate the estate, while the rows of vines themselves become a form of writing, poetry and storytelling.

Over the years, Montebruna has inspired artists and authors including Bruno Lauzi, Giorgio Faletti, Roby Facchinetti, Omar Pedrini and Paolo Conte, who have entrusted the vineyard and the wine with emotions, images and words.

It is a story that continues today. And this year’s harvest adds a new page.

The harvest arrives slightly earlier this year, because the vineyard is a faithful reflection of time and the seasons. Only through the attentive work of those who cultivate it can it express itself consistently while preserving its identity.

“Twenty-five vintages later,” say Raffaella and Giuseppe Bologna, “Montebruna continues to remind us that a wine begins, first and foremost, with a place. A place that changes, that moves through the years, that speaks. It is up to us to know how to listen.”

The 25th vintage of Montebruna therefore becomes more than an anniversary: it is a new chapter in a story that began with a dream and has been shaped over time, one vintage after another. Because before it is a wine, Montebruna is a place.

And that place continues to speak.

Montebruna is Braida’s Barbera d’Asti DOCG, produced exclusively from estate-grown grapes cultivated on the Montebruna hillside in Rocchetta Tanaro.

In the cellar, following approximately two weeks of fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks, Montebruna matures for one year in large oak casks.

The wine displays a ruby-red colour with violet highlights, with clear aromas of ripe cherry and red berries.

On the palate, it is deep, full-bodied and harmonious, with a long finish marked by a pleasant almond note.

A wine of remarkable balance and drinkability, Montebruna expresses both the character of Barbera with immediacy and the distinctive identity of the hillside from which it originates.