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Barbaresco wine production in the Langhe
Our wines
From Nebiolo di Neive to Barbaresco
Manfredo Bongiovanni, Count of Castelborgo believed it fitting to register the “Cassina di S. Stefano” in the Cabreo, a public register of property.
Santo Stefano was clearly venerated by the family, as their altar in the parish church was also dedicated to him.
1742
The architect Giovanni Antonio Borgese, administrator of the Castelborgo estate, noted the following in his inventory:
“production of 536 brente (historic Piedmontese measure of volume equal to 50 litres) of ‘black wine’, of which 100 of "Nebioli” from the “Cassina di S. Stefano”.
The Castelborgo or their winemakers had already understood that the Nebbiolo of Santo Stefano was unique, and merited separate vinification and storage.
1767
1802
Camillo Bongiovanni di Castelborgo was born. He was certainly responsible for the contacts with the famous oenologist and merchant Louis Oudart, as now amply demonstrated and well told in great detail in the book published by Slow Food Editore: "Louis Oudart and the noble wines of Piedmont" by Anna Riccardi Candiani.
1861
Louis Oudart produced in our cellars a «Nebiolo di Neive 1857» which won a gold medal on the occasion of the National Exhibition of Florence in 1861, commissioned by Quintino Sella, at the Stazione Leopolda. The Exhibition was inaugurated by King Vittorio Emanuele II on 15 September 1861 and remained open until 8 December.
1826
Louis Oudart arrived in Italy and began collaborating at the Tenimenti Reali di Pollenzo with General Staglieno, then considered a great winemaker.
1862
Louis Oudart obtained the gold medal at the International Exhibition in London with a Nebiolo di Neive of 1858, and it was his consecration. Unfortunately it was also the year of death of Camillo di Castelborgo who was succeeded by his second wife, Luigia Candiani di Olivola and his daughter Eleonora and the assets were managed by external curators.
1904
In the Castle of Neive, Countess Eleonora d'Harcourt Castelborgo, daughter of Camillo di Castelborgo's second marriage to Luigia Candiani di Olivola, produced the bottle of Pinot di Neive which we still jealously guard today.
1933
The production area of ​​Barbaresco wine was expanded, also including the Neive vineyards, an innovation strongly opposed by the inhabitants of Barbaresco and Treiso, then the only municipality of Barbaresco.
1925
The Countess d'Harcourt-Castelborgo herself produced the bottle of Nebiolo di Neive which is still preserved in the cellar today.
1934
The deed of incorporation of the Consortium of fine Barolo and Barbaresco wines, now merged into the Consortium for the protection of Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe and Dogliani. The first president was Count Gastone di Mirafiori Guerrieri, and the vice presidents were Giuseppe Cappellano and Guido Riccardi Candiani who confirmed his active role both for the company and for the entire territory.
1937
The first bottle, still kept in the cellar today, which bears the name Barbaresco on the label dates back to 1937.
1963
Giacomo Stupino and his brother Domenico purchase the Castle and part of its land.
Marcorino, "i Cortini" and the jewel Santo Stefano, a company monopole, are added to the vineyards already owned by the family.
1964
On the first bottle labeled by the Stupino family with the «Castello di Neive» brand, the «cru Santo Stefano» and the decorative frame around the stylized Castle already appear on the label.
1976
The Arneis clonal selection project begins. We owe the greatest efforts for clonal selection and the qualitative improvement of the Arneis vine to Italo Stupino, to his love for his wife and to her predilection for white wines.
1979
When Arneis was still being born, Barbaresco Castello di Neive already arrived in California, in the United States, a market now mature and ready for great Italian wines. Almaden imports under the Charles Lefranc cellars brand and then William Grant will import and distribute our Barbarescos for many years.
1983
Arneis Castello di Neive follows Barbaresco in the United States, thanks also to the fame that this had already achieved overseas.
The Stupino family asked to expand (as happened for the islands of Serralunga and Santa Vittoria in Moscato d'Asti) the Roero DOC area to include Neive by virtue of the merits acquired with clonal selection. But the application was not accepted, so the first vintage was labeled as Arneis 1982 table wine and so on for many years.
1990
The memory of bottles of Pinot Noir produced by father Giacomo with grapes purchased from the Riccardi-Candiani and the possibility of exploiting the underground cellars of the Castle for refermentation, entice Italo and Giulio to plant two different Pinot Noir vineyards: one designed for a wine red, the other for a “blanc de noir” long classic method sparkling wine.
1991
Arneis is paired with Barbaresco and together they are exported to Japan. Refined Japanese palates greatly appreciate the elegance of these two great Piedmontese wines, as in the future also that of the Langhe Pinot Noir.
1997
An initial renovation of the historic cellars of the Castle brings new steel tanks equipped with automatic pump-over systems. They replace old concrete containers whose destruction leads to the discovery of an old - beautiful - underground hell. In the same year the Slavonian oak barrels were also replaced with the more delicate French oak ones.
1990 - 2000
The collaboration with an esteemed consultant, Dr. Giancarlo Scaglione, enriches the production of Castello di Neive and allows it to start producing some new wines which immediately enjoy notable success, including the two pinot noirs we have already talked about. Barbera d'Alba "Rocca del Mattarello" was also born from a small, old vineyard whose grapes were aged in barriques for a year. With the uprooting of the vineyard, this wine will give way to Barbera d'Alba Superiore. Finally, a passito wine is created from Arneis grapes, left to dry naturally on the rows.
1999
The historic factor and cellarman, Natale "Talin" Brunettini, after decades of precious collaboration (and with him his wife Maria and his daughter Ornella who is still in the office today), is joined by an oenologist, Claudio Roggero who little by little will take care of of the cellar, the vineyards, the hazelnut groves and will in turn become director of the company.
2001
Italo Stupino, who until then had shared the care of the family business with his brother Giulio and sisters Anna and Piera, took over the complete management of the estate. He works full time, gradually abandoning other activities and lays the foundations for the future of the Neive Castle.
2003
Albarossa: one of the warmest and most well-exposed vineyards of the Castle, on the Marcorino hill, is uprooted. At the time of replanting it was decided to dedicate part of it to Barbera d'Alba Superiore and part to a new vine recommended to Italo by his friend and high school classmate Roberto Paglietta, who became Professor of Arboreal Cultivation at the University of Turin.
2008
Part of the Nebbiolo Barbaresco grapes coming from the Gallina sub-area is vinified in purity and Barbaresco Gallina is born, largely destined for the national market.
2012
It is a very important year for our company: new importer for the United States, new technical cellar and end of the sale of Santo Stefano grapes to Bruno Giacosa.
Italo Stupino and Leonardo Locascio agree for the distribution throughout the US national territory of many of the Castello di Neive wines through Winebow – Leonardo Locascio Selections. This could not remain without the Barbaresco Santo Stefano until then supplied by Bruno Giacosa, with whom he had interrupted the decades-long collaboration.
Italo understands that the historic cellars of the Neive Castle, although beautiful and steeped in history, are no longer the ideal place for the fermentation and bottling of our wines. He and Claudio are aware of the logistical limits imposed by the Castle's structures and the need to serve Winebow definitively convinces them. They manage to equip a new cellar in 6 months, following all the instructions of our technicians and consultants to achieve the maximum in terms of efficiency and technical updating.
2012
On August 17, 2012 they are ready to receive the Pinot Noir grapes for the Classic Method.
In the following years they will realize how right the choice was, finding themselves having better results, even with the same attention as before, indeed with less time and less effort.
Since then we have exploited the characteristics of the new cellar to produce a new wine, the Barbera d'Alba without added sulphites which in a few years has become one of our flagships, also used during oenology lessons at the University as a teaching example.
In the same 2012 harvest, without warning, the Bruno Giacosa winery, historic buyer of part of the Nebbiolo di Santo Stefano grapes, decided to no longer produce it.
The basis of the decision perhaps is the new law on geographical mentions according to which the use of the name vineyard on the label is reserved for the winemaker of his own grapes, perhaps strategic choices...
For our part, the gentlemen's agreement verbally signed between Bruno Giacosa on one side and Italo and Giulio Stupino on the other was interrupted.
From this moment on, the name of the Santo Stefano "monopole" will be reserved only for the labels of Castello di Neive.
2015
The eighteenth-century cellars of the Castle are renovated to allow the perfect maturation in wood of all our most important wines, in particular Barbaresco. Here they are transported at the end of fermentation and find peace, humidity and ideal temperatures for refinement. On this occasion we also discover an icebox in which we archive all the historical bottles of Barbaresco produced by us together.
2017
The year of new investments: new soft press, new destemmer and, finally, new bottling line. All the equipment was chosen because together they can help us obtain more elegant, fresh and respectful wines of the starting grape.
2016
It is the year of the renovation of the "Casetta", a century-old construction in the garden of the Neive Castle.
It has thus become the starting point for visits to our historic cellars and an ideal place for wine tasting.
A new historic agreement is signed between Italo Stupino and a large distributor; the entire range of our wines becomes part of the Sagna SpA catalog for the whole of Italy, together with some of the greatest wines and spirits in the world. Finally our wines are present in the best clubs and wine shops in the nation, and we can dedicate all our energies to producing better and better products.
APPROFONDIMENTI STORIA VINI
Insights into the history of wines
Louis Oudart produced a «Nebiolo di Neive» in our cellars that won a gold medal at the International Exhibition in London in 1862.
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