From Giovanni Bongiovanni to Davide Mozzone: three generations in Castiglione Falletto
The story begins in 1950, when Giovanni Bongiovanni started cultivating vines in Castiglione Falletto, one of the most famous municipalities in the Barolo area. What initially started as a grape supplier and later as a bulk wine business grew over several generations into an independent winery. Today, Davide Mozzone, the founder's grandson, runs the business together with his wife Marina and their children Luca and Sara. The entire production and distribution are in family hands.
The business is rooted under the name Cascina Bongiovanni, but markets its wines under the Faletto label – named after the hilly terrain around Castiglione Falletto. The address, Via Alba Barolo 3, is located in the center of the Langhe, nestled between Alba in the north and the famous Barolo crus in the south.
Manual labor on 7 hectares: vineyard and cellar as a one-man operation
The vineyard area covers a deliberately manageable 7 hectares, spread over sites in the municipalities of Castiglione Falletto, Serralunga d'Alba, and Monforte d'Alba. On these hills, the so-called Helvetian soil dominates: a barren sandstone-clay mix that gives the vines hardly any nutrients, thus forcing them to develop deep roots and concentrated fruit. Cultivation is carried out primarily by hand – Davide Mozzone handles every step of the work in the vineyard and cellar himself.
For the Faletto wine, the eponymous Langhe Rosso DOC, the vines grow on about one hectare with a southwest exposure in clay-sand soils. The blend of different Piedmontese grape varieties varies from vintage to vintage; Mozzone deliberately keeps which varieties and in what proportions they are used to himself. Harvesting usually takes place in the third week of September. In the cellar, the winery relies on modern technology without abandoning the artisanal care that Mozzone understands as his grandfather's legacy.
Nebbiolo in the spotlight – from the entry-level site to the great crus
The range extends from the fragrant Roero Arneis – the white counterpart from the hilly zone of the same name north of the Tanaro – to the accessible Nebbiolo d'Alba and the sophisticated Barbaresco sites Asili and Rabajà. Both crus are located in the Barbaresco DOCG east of Alba: Asili in the center of the municipality at an altitude of 200 to 280 meters, Rabajà at around 310 meters with a limestone-rich subsoil. The Nebbiolo d'Alba matures for twelve months in barriques, followed by a longer period of bottle aging – this results in a more accessible structure with clear fruit and subtle roasted aromas, without sacrificing the racy acidity.
What connects the Faletto wines is the respect for the characteristics of the terroir: no over-extraction, no stylistic device that masks the origin. Anyone who wants to get to know the range of Piedmont – from the aromatic Arneis to the tannin-strong depth of a single-vineyard Barbaresco – will find a coherent line in the assortment that navigates without compromise between accessible and complex.
