On my visit to Corte Fusia this past summer, I mentioned to co-owner/winemaker Daniele Gentile that I was off to Alba, in the heart of Piedmont, for the next four days. Before asking me anything about my plans (I really had none, but that is beside the point), he stated that if I didn’t go anywhere else, I had to visit Bruna Grimaldi in Grinzane Cavour.
Glad I didn’t ask.
After an exchange of emails with Martina Fiorino (Bruna’s daughter), a rendezvous was set, and I was to meet with her as I was heading out of town toward Lago Maggiore, a beautiful lake just an hour or two away.
Martina in front of the impressive concrete tanks.
The history of the brand started with Bruna’s grandfather, Giacomo Grimaldi, who started selling grapes in the 1950s in the Serralunga/Grinzane Cavour area of the Langhe subregion of Piedmont (if you didn’t follow all of that, you are not alone). Giacomo was soon joined by his son (and Bruna’s father), Giovanni Grimaldi, who added winemaking to the family portfolio, selling both bottled and bulk wine from the grapes purchased by his father, but he only bottled wines in the very best years.
Giacomo and Giovanni originally focused on fruit from Serralunga, even though the wines were not very popular in their day as they tended to be rather harsh, particularly in their youth. When Bruna Grimaldi and her husband, Franco Fiorino, took over the winery in the 1990s, they changed the name of the company (to Bruna Grimaldi) to mark a new beginning of sorts. They also stopped buying fruit and started buying vineyards so that they could better control the process from vine to bottle.
Martina intimated that this was clearly the best decision since, at the time, vineyard land in the Langhe was relatively cheap. But with the explosion of the popularity of the region in the past few decades, land costs have skyrocketed; a four-hectare plot in Serralunga (the area once thought to be too harsh) recently sold for four million euros–rendering any future purchases nearly impossible for the company.
Bruna Grimaldi has been organic since 2013 and now owns 14 hectares of vineyards in 8 communes, a total of 20 distinct parcels. In all, 50% of the vineyards are planted to Nebbiolo, 30% to Barbera, and the remaining 20% a combination of Dolcetto and Arneis. On average, they produce roughly 80,000 bottles (~7,000 cases) a year, which makes them an “medium-sized” winery in thee region.
After a brief tour of the facility, I sat down for a tasting with Martina, who went to business school and then worked in London as a wine buyer, before starting at the winery in 2019. Her brother, Simone Fiorino, who is three years older, went to the same wine school as their parents, then trained in New Zealand before starting with the family business in 2015. He now works closely with both their father in the vineyard and their mother in the winery.
For such a relatively small producer, Bruna Grimaldi has a fairly broad portfolio, 70% of which they export, 30% is to the U.S. market. All seven of the wines we tried were fabulous…
2024 Bruna Grimaldi Arneis, Langhe DOC, Piedmont, Italy: Retail $25. From a single plot, just to the east of Barolo.and south of Roero. More limestone, less sand. No malolactic fermentation since Arneis does not have much acidity naturally. According to Martina, the grape tends to represent place really well. Rich and seductive with intense citrus and pear. Whoa. The palate might be even better. Loaded with fruit and power, but remains elegant with a balancing acidity and minerality. Whoa. Perhaps the best Arneis I have ever tried. Outstanding. 95 Points.
2023 Bruna Grimaldi San Martino, Dolcetto d’Alba, Piedmont, Italy: Retail $20. 100% Dolcetto. One of the original plots purchased by her grandfather, with the name San Martino coming from the name of the street near the vineyard. Medium color, translucent which is a bit surprising since it was not filtered or fined, just racked, once a year, never seeing any oak. A bit shy on the nose with some darker red fruit coming in eventually. The palate is perhaps on the austere side, but glorious with plenty of earth, minerality, and enough fruit for balance. Lovely. Excellent. 92 Points.
2023 Bruna Grimaldi Scassa, Barbera d’Alba Superiore, Piedmont, Italy: Retail $22. 100% Barbera. From three plots: one from the north, two from the east. On oak for 6 months (this vintage). Medium to dark magenta with lovely dark fruit, some earth, and a hint of oak. The palate is fruity and full with plenty of power and intensity. Plenty of tartness throughout. Really fantastic. Outstanding. 93 Points.
2023 Bruna Grimaldi Bonurei, Nebbiolo d’Alba, Piedmont, Italy: Restaurant 25€. I had this the previous night at a restaurant in Alba, and it was fantastic. Similar notes today. Outstanding. 95 Points.
2021 Bruna Grimaldi Camilla, Barolo Classico, Piedmont, Italy: Retail $55. 100% Nebbiolo. Bottled July 24, and the current relase. Camilla is the made up name for this wine. 25k bottles produced, and this is a blend of several vineyards. Traditionally, Barolo was a blend of vineyards, which is why they call it “Classico.” According to Martina, you get a much better sense of what the vintage is from the blend. Medium velvety magenta color with a gorgeous nose of dried cranberries and ripe cherry, with plenty of earth. Whoa. Powerful but elegant on the palate with great, rich fruit, earth, a bit of black truffle, and just a whole lot of verve. This is Outstanding. 96 Points.
2021 Bruna Grimaldi Bricco Ambrogio, Barolo, Piedmont, Italy: Retail $110. 100% Nebbiolo, from one of the delineated MGAs (Menzioni Geografiche Aggiuntive, kind of the Barolo equivalent of a “Cru”). Very steep vineyards with a generally warmer micro-climate, receiving a lot of sun all day long. Ripe fruit sweet tannins. Lower acidity compared to other MGA. Bruna Grimaldi has owned one of the 49 hectares in the MGA since 2007. Whoa. Gorgeous. Really, really fruity with acidity coming in on the midpalate. Spicy and sophisticated with just oodles of verve yowza. Some silky but significant tannins on the finish. Whoa. Incredible now. But with 3-5 or more years? Outstanding Plus. 97 Points.
2021 Bruna Grimaldi Badarina, Barolo, Piedmont, Italy: Retail $120. 100% Nebbiolo. Bruna Grimaldi has owned a plot of Badarina since 1999. It’s another of the many MGAs in Barolo, with completely different soils and microclimate than Bricco Ambrogio. More of a salty and savory nose here, think balsamic and truffle, but absolutely gorgeous. Big, rich, voluptuous with more of a dried fruit mushroom thing on the palate. Darker and more savory than the other wines in the lineup, for sure. The bigger tannins on the finish suggest that this needs more time, but it is incredible right now. Outstanding. 96 Points.
the drunken cyclist 