Cascina Adelaide, Italy
Borne from a passion for the region and a burning desire to demonstrate not only the qualities that can be captured in the glass, but also the diversity of the terroir within the Barolo DOCG. Having purchased an old farmhouse and accompanying vineyards in 1999, Amabile made considerable investments in a state of the art gravity fed winery, and top winemaking team to set Cascina Adelaide apart. Yet it was his ambition to own land in each of the Barolo crus and commitment to Barolo’s terroirs which has made them a producer of note. Amabile explains this concept as “it’s the land that provides the difference, the wine provides the medium”. In a natural extension of this, no herbicides are used in the vineyards and all harvesting and sorting are done by hand. Native yeasts and minimal sulphur are used in the fermentation, allowing the resulting wines to speak for themselves, creating delicious complex Barolo’s with an exacting attention to detail that shines through.
Viticulture
Adelaide own vineyards through the Langhe region with prime sites in Cannubi, Preda, Fossati, Costa Fiore, Pernici and Bussia. All work in the vineyard is carried out by hand, and the Nebbiolo vines are meticulously tended, alongside other native varieties such as Barbera, Dolcetto and Nascetta.
Winemaking
All Barolo wines are fermented and produced with slow, temperature controlled fermentations followed by extensive ageing in large neutral French oak barrels for around 2 years and then for a further 12 months in bottle to ensure the character of each individual cru is perfectly expressed.
- The dream of Amabile Droco made reality, and today producing expressive single cru wines from Barolo’s finest sites.
- Viticulture and winemaking are low intervention, with cover crops, no herbicides, natural manure fertiliser and wild yeast ferments and low sulphur.
- Wines of concentration, elegance and structure which frequently gain high praise from the likes of Decanter and Wine Spectator.