Today, Luciano Sandrone is one of Barolo’s most admired names, a fact made all the more remarkable given his Estate’s humble beginnings. As Kerin O’Keefe writes in Barolo and Barbaresco, Sandrone is one of “the few producers who does not hail from generations of growers and winemakers.” Sandrone’s father was a carpenter, but instead of following in his father’s footsteps, Luciano chose a life in wine, first at Giacomo Borgogno and then at Marchesi de Barolo, where he rose to become cellar master, a role he would hold until 1990.
In 1978 Sandrone achieved his ambition, buying a small plot in the then little-known Barolo Cru of Cannubi Boschis. Made in his parent’s garage overlooking the Cannubi hill, Sandrone tentatively took his inaugural Barolo to Vinitay in 1981, where he sold every one of the 1500 bottles to an American broker. It quickly became one of Piemonte’s first cult wines, first with the 1982 and 1985 vintages, and by the time the 1990 Cannubi received a perfect score from Robert Parker, the dye was cast.
Since the early ’90s, Luciano has worked alongside his children Luca and Barbara and, increasingly, his grandchildren Alessia and Stefano. Driven by the family’s clarity of vision, the Estate has since expanded to over 27 hectares. One of the things least discussed about this celebrated producer and Barolo, in general, is the quality of their work in the vineyards. Sandrone is genuinely one of the regional leaders in this area. Firstly, they are organic in a region where organic practice is still infrequent. Secondly, Luca Sandrone is a perfectionist (like his sister Barbera) and is completely obsessed with the vines he manages. His focus is very much on making the vines stronger, healthier and more resilient rather than the symptomatic approach that is so typical. A great deal of the vineyard work is done by hand, with the Estate employing twelve full-time workers in the vines alone. Luca and Luciano openly reference Burgundy in their approach and seek to harvest only perfectly ripe and immaculate fruit. This is one of the keys to the purity and flesh of the wines.
Antonio Galloni states “No one has done a better job of bridging the traditional and modern style than Sandrone, especially in recent years. The Sandrone Barolos are made in a style that emphasizes fruit and intensity. In that sense, they are the equivalents to growers such as Claude Dugat or Leroy in Burgundy.”
Our recent rendezvous with the Aleste and Le Vigne 2019s had us at The World of Wine swooning. Quite frankly, they stole the show as some of the most impressive wines of the vintage!
