Giacomo Borgogno & Figli

Giacomo Borgogno & Figli was founded in 1761 by Bartolomeo Borgogno. Its first documented commercial sale dates to December 19, 1848, when the Military Quartermaster of the House of Savoy chose the winery to supply the canteen of the College of the Savoy Army. Borgogno Barolo was served at the celebratory lunch marking the 1861 Unification of Italy, and again in 1908 at a banquet honoring Tsar Nicholas II of Russia during an official visit to Racconigi Castle. Cesare Borgogno took over management in 1920 and changed the estate's fortunes: he began exporting to Argentina, Europe and the United States, and had the idea of setting aside roughly half of each year's Barolo Riserva production in the cellar, selling it only some twenty years later. During a raid on the cellars on July 17, 1944, Wehrmacht soldiers took 240 cases of 1935-vintage Barolo. The estate took the name Giacomo Borgogno & Figli in 1967. Cesare Borgogno died in 1968, and management passed to his grand-daughter Ida and her husband Franco Boschis, and later to their sons Cesare and Giorgio (Decanter calls Ida his niece). In 1972 a bottle from the estate fetched 589,000 Lire at a charity auction, a record for the era. The Borgogno family ran the estate for 247 years, until the Farinetti family, of Eataly, acquired it in 2008.

• Founded 1761 by Bartolomeo Borgogno; first documented commercial sale December 19, 1848, via a Savoy Army canteen supply contract
• Borgogno Barolo served at Italy's 1861 Unification celebration lunch and the 1908 Racconigi Castle banquet for Tsar Nicholas II of Russia
• Cesare Borgogno (from 1920) built export markets in Argentina, Europe and the US, and began setting aside part of each vintage's Barolo Riserva for extended cellar aging
• Estate renamed Giacomo Borgogno & Figli in 1967; Cesare Borgogno died in 1968, succeeded by grand-daughter Ida Boschis, her husband Franco, and later their sons Cesare and Giorgio; the Farinetti family (Eataly) acquired the estate in 2008 after 247 years of Borgogno family ownership

The Farinetti family's 2008 purchase (Decanter dates the deal to late 2007) kept Cesare and Giorgio Boschis on to make the wine through 2009, while Oscar Farinetti's son Andrea attended the oenological school in Alba. After Andrea graduated in 2010, Oscar handed management of the winery to him at age 20. In 2013 Andrea returned the cellar to the exclusive use of concrete fermentation tanks. Organic conversion of the vineyards began in 2015 (the estate's Estate page gives 2016), and the first certified-organic wines came from the 2019 harvest. In 2024 the estate earned Equalitas certification for its economic, ethical and social sustainability commitments. Andrea Farinetti has summed up his ambition simply: 'I want to make the perfect Barolo.'

• Farinetti family (of Eataly) acquired Borgogno in 2008 (Decanter dates the deal to late 2007)
• Cesare and Giorgio Boschis continued winemaking through 2009 while Andrea Farinetti, Oscar's son, studied at Alba's oenological school
• Andrea Farinetti took over management at age 20 following his 2010 graduation; in 2013 he returned the cellar to exclusive concrete fermentation
• Organic certification from the 2019 harvest, after conversion began in 2015 (2016 on the estate's Estate page); Equalitas sustainability certification followed in 2024

Borgogno's estate covers about 60 hectares in total, 8 of woods and 52 of vineyards, spread across Barolo, La Morra, Madonna di Como in the Langhe and the Colli Tortonesi. Plantings break down as roughly 22 hectares of Nebbiolo, 9 of Barbera, 2.5 of Dolcetto, 0.5 of Freisa, 2 of Riesling and 6 of Timorasso (2 of which are in full production), plus 10 hectares in the Castino commune of Alta Langa planted to Nebbiolo that remain in conversion and not yet producing. The estate's Barolo DOCG blend is sourced from seven MGAs: Liste, Fossati, Cannubi, Cannubi San Lorenzo and San Pietro delle Viole within the Barolo commune, plus Annunziata and Case Nere in La Morra. Liste, at 6.75 hectares with a southern exposure between 270 and 330 meters, is clearly visible from the road toward the old Castello della Volta. Cannubi, at 1.30 hectares with a south-facing exposure between 290 and 320 meters, is documented as a vineyard site since around 1700, and the estate calls it the most famous and renowned cru in Barolo; the Cannubi San Lorenzo parcel sits within it. Fossati covers 3.20 hectares with a south-eastern exposure between 290 and 350 meters. San Pietro delle Viole, the estate's youngest vineyard, spans about 4 hectares with a south-east exposure between 300 and 340 meters, close to the San Pietro delle Viole chapel. In La Morra's Annunziata MGA, the estate added 2.5 hectares of Nebbiolo in 2019; separately, the single-vineyard Barolo Annunziata Riserva, which arrives in 2019, comes from a plot of just under one hectare at 236-245 meters. The 11-hectare Bricco Bompè site in Madonna di Como grows Barbera d'Alba and Langhe Riesling, and the 3-hectare Vigna Scaldapulce plot in Monleale, in the Colli Tortonesi, is planted to Timorasso.

• About 60 hectares total (8 woods, 52 vines): roughly 22 ha Nebbiolo, 9 ha Barbera, 2.5 ha Dolcetto, 0.5 ha Freisa, 2 ha Riesling, 6 ha Timorasso (2 ha in full production), plus 10 ha in Castino, Alta Langa, still in conversion
• Barolo DOCG blend draws on seven MGAs: Liste, Fossati, Cannubi, Cannubi San Lorenzo, San Pietro delle Viole (Barolo commune) and Annunziata, Case Nere (La Morra)
• Liste: 6.75 ha, south, 270-330m. Cannubi: 1.30 ha, south, 290-320m, documented since about 1700. Fossati: 3.20 ha, south-east, 290-350m
• San Pietro delle Viole: about 4 ha, south-east, 300-340m. Annunziata (La Morra): 2.5 ha of Nebbiolo added 2019; the Riserva bottling comes from just under 1 ha at 236-245m
• Bricco Bompè (Madonna di Como): 11 ha of Barbera d'Alba and Langhe Riesling. Vigna Scaldapulce (Monleale, Colli Tortonesi): 3 ha of Timorasso

Borgogno's wines ferment spontaneously from indigenous yeasts in large concrete tanks; no selected yeast cultures are used anywhere in the cellar. For the Barolo DOCG blend, fermentation runs about 15 days at 22-28°C in concrete, followed by 20 days of submerged-cap maceration, with malolactic fermentation occurring during that period; the wine then ages in large Slavonian oak for more than 24 months before a final passage through concrete tanks ahead of bottling, at 14% alcohol. The single-vineyard Cannubi, Liste and Fossati bottlings ferment about 12 days in concrete with a longer submerged-cap maceration, 40 to 60 days depending on the cru, and age 4 years in 4,500-liter Slavonian oak casks plus a further 6 months in bottle. The Barolo Riserva, selected from Cannubi, Liste and Fossati only in vintages that permit it, macerates up to 50 days and ages 6 years in large Slavonian oak followed by 6 months in bottle. Barolo DOCG rules require the base Rosso to have a minimum of 38 months' total aging including 18 months in barrel, and Riserva a minimum of 62 months including 18 months in barrel. The estate's Timorasso-based Derthona, from Monleale and the hills around Tortona, is cold-macerated in steel for 3 days, then spontaneously fermented in concrete at 17°C for 25 days, refined 10 months in steel and 7 months in bottle; the single-vineyard Derthona Scaldapulce instead spends 18 months on the lees in steel before 7 months in bottle. Barolo Chinato follows an ancient, secret recipe of Casa Borgogno originating in the 1920s: a Barolo DOCG base is infused with 46 aromatic herbs, including vanilla, cloves, gentian, rhubarb, sandal, cardamom, calamus and mace, macerated 35 to 70 days in a hydroalcoholic solution alongside two varieties of quinine bark, Calisaya and Soccirubra. Because it is an aromatized wine, Barolo Chinato is not itself a DOCG product, even though its base is.

• Spontaneous fermentation from indigenous yeasts in large concrete tanks across the range; no selected yeast cultures used
• Barolo DOCG blend: about 15 days' fermentation plus 20 days' submerged-cap maceration in concrete, then more than 24 months in large Slavonian oak; 14% alcohol
• Single-vineyard Cannubi, Liste and Fossati: 4 years in 4,500-liter Slavonian oak casks plus 6 months in bottle. Barolo Riserva (Cannubi/Liste/Fossati selection): up to 50 days' maceration, 6 years in large Slavonian oak plus 6 months in bottle
• Barolo DOCG rules require a 38-month minimum total aging for Rosso and 62 months for Riserva (both including 18 months in barrel)
• Barolo Chinato: an ancient 1920s Casa Borgogno recipe on a Barolo DOCG base, infused with 46 herbs and spices plus Calisaya and Soccirubra quinine bark, macerated 35-70 days

One of Borgogno's defining practices is a cellar library that Cesare Borgogno began in the 1920s: part of the wine from the finest vintages stays in the estate's historic underground cellars for at least 20 years before release, 20,000 bottles of each important vintage. The library is the source for Selezione Cesare, a rare multi-vintage blend; the current release, the fourth edition, blends the 1982, 2003 and 2014 vintages, and only 60 bottles of it were allocated to the UK market. A bottle of the 1921 Barolo Cannubi Riserva is kept in the cellar, and Andrea Farinetti, who has opened the 1982 Riserva on a number of occasions, says it 'often shows even better.' In 2022, Barolo Liste and Barolo Cannubi Riserva became available again through La Place de Bordeaux, distributed exclusively via Bordeaux negociants; that same year the estate released its first single-vineyard Derthona cru, Scaldapulce, from the 2019 harvest.

• Cellar-library practice begun by Cesare Borgogno in the 1920s: part of each top vintage set aside for at least 20 years, 20,000 bottles per important vintage
• Selezione Cesare: a rare multi-vintage blend drawn from the library; the current, fourth edition blends the 1982, 2003 and 2014 vintages, with only 60 bottles allocated to the UK
• A bottle of the 1921 Barolo Cannubi Riserva is kept in the historic cellars; Andrea Farinetti has opened the 1982 Riserva repeatedly and says it 'often shows even better'
• 2022: Barolo Liste and Barolo Cannubi Riserva became available again through La Place de Bordeaux via Bordeaux negociants; the first single-vineyard Derthona cru, Scaldapulce, released from the 2019 harvest

In the 1980s and 1990s a group of young winemakers, later dubbed the Barolo Boys, began drawing on French techniques: shorter aging, more color, and heavier use of barrique, aimed at a style in line with the international standards set by Robert Parker. When the Farinetti family purchased Giacomo Borgogno in 2008, they turned to the past instead, favoring a more traditional style. The estate is certified organic and is working toward biodynamic certification. Even its rebellious wine tells a traditionalist story in reverse: the Langhe Nebbiolo 'No Name' began as a protest after regulators forced the estate to declassify a cask of 2005 Nebbiolo that had been destined for Barolo, and the wine still draws 60 to 70% of its blend from Langhe Nebbiolo, with the remainder from several of the estate's five Barolo vineyards, including Cannubi, Fossati and Liste, fermented in concrete and aged a little over two years in wood. Andrea Farinetti has summed up his ambition simply: 'I want to make the perfect Barolo.'

• The 2008 Farinetti purchase deliberately turned back toward tradition rather than the shorter-aging, more-barrique style associated with the 1980s-90s 'Barolo Boys' movement
• Certified organic and working toward biodynamic certification
• No Name (Langhe Nebbiolo) began as a protest after regulators forced declassification of a 2005 Nebbiolo cask destined for Barolo; the blend is 60-70% Langhe Nebbiolo plus fruit from several of the estate's five Barolo vineyards, including Cannubi, Fossati and Liste, aged a little over two years in Slavonian oak
• Andrea Farinetti: 'I want to make the perfect Barolo'

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.borgogno.com/en/, https://www.borgogno.com/en/history/, https://www.borgogno.com/en/estate/, https://www.borgogno.com/en/vineyards/, https://www.borgogno.com/en/cellar/, https://www.borgogno.com/en/wines/, https://www.borgogno.com/en/casa-borgogno/, https://www.borgogno.com/en/contacts/, and the individual wine pages for Barolo, Barolo Riserva, Barolo Cannubi, Barolo Cannubi Riserva, Barolo Liste, Barolo Liste Riserva, Barolo Fossati, Barolo Annunziata Riserva, Derthona, Derthona Scaldapulce, Langhe Freisa, No Name and Barolo Chinato. Secondary sources: Decanter, 'Borgogno's makeover: A decade of change' (April 10, 2022); Please the Palate / Napa Valley Register, 'Giacomo Borgogno - The Original Barolo' (Allison Levine); Italian Wine Central, Barolo DOCG denomination page. Last verified 2026-10-12. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.