Cordero di Montezemolo

On the same hill since 1340: Tenuta Monfalletto in La Morra

Few Italian wineries can date their roots as precisely as this one: On April 3, 1340, Pietrino Falletti acquired the lands of La Morra — and thus began a family history that is being continued today in its 19th generation. For almost six centuries, the property remained in the hands of the Falletti family until Countess Luigia Falletti di Rodello died childless in 1941 and her nephew Paolo Cordero di Montezemolo took over the inheritance. It was he who transformed a feudal agricultural operation — wine had previously been considered part of the workers' wages — into a commercial winery and made the name Monfalletto famous in the world of Barolo. Today, his son Giovanni and his children Elena and Alberto continue to run the estate together.

The heart of the operation is the Tenuta Monfalletto in the Annunziata district near La Morra, located on the UNESCO World Heritage hills of the Langhe. At the top of the hill stands a cedar of Lebanon, which Costanzo Falletti di Rodello and his bride Eulalia Della Chiesa di Cervignasco planted for their wedding in 1856 — still the symbol of the winery today and a visible anchor above the rows of vines.

Contiguous vineyards, organic cultivation, precise vinification

What sets Cordero di Montezemolo apart in the fragmented Piedmont is the cohesion of its core site: 28 contiguous hectares on all sides of the Monfalletto hill, supplemented by further leased and purchased land in Alba and the Roero, totaling around 38 hectares. In a region where generational divisions have split vineyards further and further apart over the centuries, such a block of vineyard area is an exception. The grape varieties — Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto, Arneis, and Chardonnay — are specifically placed according to slope exposure, altitude, and soil type; the subsoil consists mainly of sandstone and lime-rich tuff marl.

At the beginning of the 2000s, the winery switched to organic cultivation; today, the vineyards are certified organically farmed. Fertilization is carried out exclusively with natural and mineral agents. In the cellar, the family works with an approach that has been consistently developed since the reforms of the 1960s and 1970s: fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, followed by aging in a combination of large wooden barrels and small barriques — with varying proportions depending on the wine, so that the oak always remains in the background and supports the fruit of the Nebbiolo. Harvesting is done by hand, with parcel-specific selection at the optimal ripening time for each individual section.

Barolo as a guide — from the accessible Monfalletto to the Villero-Cru Enrico VI

The range follows the house's logic: Nebbiolo is the focus, while the other Piedmontese varieties complete the picture. The flagship Barolo Monfalletto combines the grapes from all La Morra parcels into a wine that is accessible early for a Barolo — cherry-fruit-driven, with velvety tannins and the typical floral note of the site. The Barolo Gattera comes from a single-vineyard section of the same hill and shows more structure and depth. The prestige cuvée Enrico VI comes from a nearly two-hectare parcel in the Villero-Cru of Castiglione Falletto, which Paolo Cordero di Montezemolo acquired in 1965: 20 months of aging in French oak barrels, aromas of eucalyptus, licorice, and dark fruit, pronounced tannins, long finish. In addition to the Barolos, Barbera d'Alba Superiore Funtanì, Dolcetto d'Alba, the varietal Langhe Arneis, and the wood-aged Elioro Chardonnay show how broadly the Langhe is positioned beyond Nebbiolo — always with the same demand for transparency of origin and precision of craftsmanship.