What you should know about Bruno Rocca wine estate, Barbaresco, Piedmont, Italy
Bruno Rocca is a small yet respected and prestigious wine producer located in the Barbaresco village area.
Read on as we discover who’s behind the wines, their history, the terroir, the people.
Tasting Notes and Wine Reviews
Brief history
Barbaresco, its land, and our family have had an unbreakable bond for over 2 centuries.
Historic documents from the 19th century demonstrate the presence of the Rocca family in the township of Barbaresco since 1834, the same year our ancestor Francesco (1834-1894) was born.
In 1864, Francesco drafted the prenuptial agreements with his future wife, Luigia Cheinasso. In this document, Francesco is defined as “a farmer born and living in Barbaresco”. He was co-owner with his brother Giuseppe of “houses, sites, vineyards, and slopes” located in the township.
According to later documents, our family’s activity revolved around a multi-purpose farm. Viniculture was an important part of the household finances alongside fields for foraging and raising livestock.
In 1958 grandfather Francesco bought Rabajà, the most prestigious Cru of Barbaresco.
Towards the end of the 1950s, Francesco Rocca (1907-1978), nephew of the first Francesco, had the intuition that the family should move from the center of Barbaresco to the zone of Rabajà at its most southern point.
The land in Rabajà had always been renowned for producing high quality grapes. They were sold at a significantly higher price than other nebbiolo grapes from other areas around the Barbaresco village.
Further proof of this quality comes from the fact that the cooperative winery to which we sold our grapes in 1967 already bottled them separately under the label “Vineyards from southwest Rabajà.”
Papa Bruno changes the history of the company and in 1978 began to make wine under the family name.
Knowing that we owned an enological heritage unlike any other and willing to develop the hundreds of years of agricultural history behind the Rocca family, Francesco Bruno decided to change gear. He specializes in viniculture.
1978 was the first harvest that wine was labelled under the family name. Years of fermentation and experimentation followed, with lots of passion and many challenges to overcome.
During that same period, the international acclaim for wines of the Langhe area– Barbaresco in particular – enjoyed an incredible growth.
Francesco continually sought to raise the quality and uniqueness of the wines.
In this atmosphere of renewal and rediscovery of tradition, Bruno Rocca modernized the family business. The goal was to raise the quality of the wines produced and to make the most of the extraordinary “family” cru, Rabajà.
They did this through a radical change in the management of the vineyards and work in the cellars. No longer would they focus on maximizing quantity. Instead, all their work was to be centered on producing wines with distinctive character.
Francesco and Luisa joined the company, the new generation takes on the challenge of tradition.
The 1990s brought satisfaction and rewards for the hard work. The winery became known and recognized at an international level.
We bought new vineyards beyond Barbaresco and began to produce other great wines of Piedmont: Langhe Nebbiolo, Barbera d’Alba and d’Asti, Dolcetto, and Chardonnay.
Today, Bruno Rocca’s children Luisa and Francesco work alongside him in the family business.
Their task is to renew the faith in our family history and in the land of our origins; to respect the earth and valorize its vines; and to produce wine that is the result of the incredible equilibrium between the rhythms of nature and the work of humankind.
Location
Country: ITALY – Region: PIEDMONT
Area: LANGHE
Appelations: BARBARESCO, LANGHE NEBBIOLO – BARBERA d’ALBA – DOLCETTO d’ALBA – LANGHE CHARDONNAY
From NIZZA MONFERRATO: BARBERA d’ASTI
Outstanding fact about the location:
Barbaresco, a UNESCO World Heritage
One of the major milestones of this area was in 2014, when the hills of Barbaresco were officially recognized within Italy’s fiftieth UNESCO World Heritage site.
Soil types
To cultivate a high quality Nebbiolo vine for Barbaresco, clay and limestone soils are essential.
This excludes valley floors, wet terrain, plains, and land that doesn’t receive sufficient sunshine. The hilly land that originates from the Tertiary Period or the Cenozoic Era of nearly 70 million years ago, created from a crustal uplift and then flooded by the sea, is perfect for Barbaresco.
It is estimated that our land was once buried under 300-500 m (980-1640 ft.) of sea. The soil is characterized by white tufaceous marl mixed with grey-blue marl with veins of sand: in other words, soil rich in limestone and microelements that is ideal for cultivating Nebbiolo.
Vineyards and grape varieties
The property covers 15 Hectares (37 acres).
All wines produces are coming from estate vineyards. No grapes or wines from outside are bought.
Percentage of each grape variety on the estate: 65% Nebbiolo 25% Barbera 5% Dolcetto 5% Chardonnay
People
Owners: Bruno Rocca and his son Francesco Rocca and doughther Luisa Rocca
No external consultant is used.
Wines
Bruno Rocca Estate wines:
Barbaresco Maria Adelaide DOCG
Barbaresco Rabajà DOCG
Barbaresco Coparossa DOCG
Langhe Nebbiolo Fralù DOC
Dolcetto d’Alba Trifolè DOC
Langhe Chardonnay Cadet DOC
Cellar door information
Open Monday-Friday: from 9 am to 6 pm
Saturday only by appointment
Sunday: closed.
For visits, contact: Elena Oberto
Email: [email protected]
Tour and tasting: 20€
Discover Bruno Rocca estate through the following video
Bruno Rocca 2013 (English subtitles) from Alessandro Scalerandi.