Map - I Cru Di Enogea - Serralunga D'Alba Vineyards and Cellars - 2nd Edition - Alessandro Masnagetti

I won't give away too many details as I encourage interested folks to get one. I found this map both very interesting and somewhat limited or frustrating. It wasn't expensive so I am glad to have it.

It was fascinating to learn that the top three producers of Barolo each have control over a Serralunga vineyard that's not on any of their labels. You wonder if they blend it in with some of their other production. Should I take it as a vote of confidence in the vineyard? Two of the three were in obscure-ish vineyards also!

It was interesting to see ownership/control. Many outside modern producers have plots in Serralunga. And to see which vineyards they'd picked. Interesting to see how many vineyards Terre del Barolo was in. By the number of recognized vineyards that they are in:

Terre del Barolo - 10
Schiavenza - 6
Giovani rosso - 6
Massolino - 5
Ettore Germano - 5
Palladino - 4
Mauro Sebaste - 4
Oddero - 4
Azelia - 4
Rivetto - 4
Guido Porro - 3
Baudana - 3
Scavino - 2
Bruni - 2
Ascheri - 2
Sordo - 2


I left out a few with only one or two or really unknown.

Most maps have a compass on them where south is facing straight down. These vineyard maps have West facing straight down, perhaps to fit Serralunga easily on the page. It's really hard to get used to though, especially as South is the direction you're most interested in. There aren't topo lines but he does provide arrows showing slope but for me there aren't enough of them. There are sections of the vineyards where it's not clear which direction they face.

It's interesting that they mention that part of the Baudana vineyard labeled "Privati" supplies a major producer. I was trying to think of who that would be as many major producers were ok about putting their names on other parts of this map. Who was missing? I figured it was Marchesi di Barolo as their label features the tower of Serralunga on it, their name doesn't appear on any part of this map and they were recipients of the Gia Opera Pia charity estates, known to have owned land in Serralunga.

It's of somewhat limited usefulness for me as I'm not buying much anymore. It does show that some of my carefully selected producers may have crappy positions!

Like the Wine Atlas of the Langhe, he doesn't really point out which producers have the best spots in a vineyard, until yes he does point it out in some cases, often referring to geography that's not evident on his map.

A great effort! I applaud him for doing this and I've sat around and looked at it for hours, as there is little definitive info available.

I see lots of producers in famous and semi-famous vineyards that they do not produce a single vineyard from. Perhaps they are too small, not exposed well, would dilute the brand or cellar space is the reason.

Thanks
Fraser


Edited by fraser (07-04-2018 08:28:23)