Giacomo Fenocchio

The Fenocchio estate (founded 1894) has been under the leadership of son Claudio for many years, who took over the family domain in 1989 after the sudden death of his father Giacomo. Claudio has continued to work in the traditional style of his father and Barolo, which was not so easy in the early years because the 1980s ushered in the rapid rise of modernists for whom Barolo with a lot of wood and fruit extraction became the norm.

Fortunately, Claudio has remained true to tradition, including very long skin maceration (up to 90 days!), which ultimately brought him recognition and a great reputation. We are still grateful to Luca Cravenzola, cellar master of Produttori del Barbaresco, for establishing our contact; he spoke of Fenocchio as a purist who adhered to the same wine philosophy with his Barolos as Luca himself. This seemed to fit seamlessly within our taste profile, of which we convincingly took note!

The Fenocchios live and work on the upper part of Bussia, the heart of Barolo, both geographically and in terms of terroir. The best vineyards of Barolo are located on the upper part of this hill. Fenocchio also has some vineyards in Castellero and Villero, and a number of beautiful plots in Roero, where he produces a fine Arneis.