Marchesi di Grésy

Martinenga has been the property of the Marchesi di Grésy family since 1797. The site was home to the first Roman settlement in the area, called Villa Martis, after an oak forest in the valley that was slowly converted into vineyards. At Monte Aribaldo, marquis Carlo di Grésy built Villa Giulia in 1900, an Art Nouveau hunting lodge. The estate began its own winemaking and bottling in 1973. The company is Tenute Cisa Asinari dei Marchesi di Grésy S.S.A., with its address at Azienda Agricola Martinenga in Barbaresco.

• Martinenga: property of the Marchesi di Grésy family since 1797
• Villa Giulia at Monte Aribaldo: built by marquis Carlo di Grésy in 1900
• Own winemaking and bottling: from 1973
• Company name: Tenute Cisa Asinari dei Marchesi di Grésy

As of September 2022, Ludovica and Alessandro di Grésy spoke for the estate. In a joint statement that month they credited "the great work of our father Alberto, who for the last fifty years has spread his passion for our land with indisputable charm, making our brand known and our wines appreciated in more than 50 countries."

• Ludovica and Alessandro di Grésy: issued the estate's statement of September 2022
• Alberto di Grésy: their father, credited by them in 2022 with fifty years of spreading the family's passion for its land

Martinenga, in Barbaresco, covers a total area of 23.98.91 ha. A south-facing natural amphitheatre of twelve hectares embraces the winery, on a soil of limestone and blue marl. Monte Aribaldo, two kilometers away in the municipality of Treiso d'Alba, has 10 hectares of vineyards on a rich calcareous soil at an average elevation of 360 meters. La Serra, in Cassine in the Monferrato, consists of 11 hectares of vineyards with a southern exposure at 230 to 340 meters, on a mixture of clay and limestone near the Bormida river. Monte Colombo is a vineyard on the hilltop next to La Serra at 280 meters, with a mainly southern exposure, planted to Barbera and Merlot. Dai Grésy, the estate's agriturismo, sits on the ridge of Monte Aribaldo that connects Barbaresco and Treiso.

• Martinenga (Barbaresco): Nebbiolo, Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc
• Monte Aribaldo (Treiso d'Alba): Dolcetto, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc
• La Serra (Cassine, Monferrato): Barbera, Moscato, Merlot
• Monte Colombo (next to La Serra): Barbera and Merlot

In the estate's own account, Martinenga is the only MeGA (Menzione Geografica Aggiuntiva) in the Barbaresco appellation to be bottled entirely by a single producer. Within the vineyard the estate identifies two selections, Gaiun and Camp Gros, which sit at opposite ends of the amphitheatre. The Martinenga parcel covers 6.49 ha facing south and southwest at an average altitude of 250 meters. Gaiun Martinenga covers 2.30 ha facing south at 270 meters. Camp Gros Martinenga covers 2.58 ha facing southwest at 280 meters and is bottled as a Barbaresco Riserva DOCG.

• Martinenga Barbaresco DOCG: 6.49 ha, S/SW, 250 m average altitude
• Gaiun Martinenga Barbaresco DOCG: 2.30 ha, S, 270 m
• Camp Gros Martinenga Barbaresco Riserva DOCG: 2.58 ha, SW, 280 m
• The Martinenga parcel also yields the Nebbiolo Martinenga Langhe DOC

Beyond the three Barbarescos, the lineup runs from whites to dessert wines. The whites are Sauvignon Langhe DOC, Villa Giulia Langhe Bianco DOC, Chardonnay Langhe DOC and Grésy Chardonnay Langhe DOC. The everyday reds are Monte Aribaldo Dolcetto d'Alba DOC, Martinenga Langhe DOC Nebbiolo and Barbera d'Asti DOCG. The structured reds are Villa Martis Langhe Rosso DOC, Merlot daSolo Monferrato Rosso DOC, Virtus Langhe Rosso DOC and Monte Colombo Barbera d'Asti. The dessert wines are La Serra Moscato d'Asti DOCG and L'Altro Moscato Passito Piemonte DOC. The estate also makes grappa from Chardonnay, Barbaresco, Dolcetto, Nebbiolo and Moscato, and its list carries two imported wines: a Chablis from Daniel-Etienne Defaix and a Champagne from JM Gobillard et Fils.

• Virtus Langhe Rosso DOC: from the Cabernet Sauvignon and Barbera vineyards at Martinenga
• Villa Martis Langhe Rosso DOC: from Barbera and Nebbiolo vineyards at Martinenga
• Monte Aribaldo Dolcetto d'Alba DOC: from 3.66 ha of Dolcetto at Monte Aribaldo
• La Serra Moscato d'Asti DOCG and L'Altro Moscato Passito: from 3.10 ha of Moscato at La Serra

The barrique cellar at Martinenga was built entirely underground, using the ground's natural insulation to age wine with no need for energy. Part of the cellar roof and the parking area carry solar panels whose annual capacity covers the estate's energy needs. An aromatic garden is planted on the terrace above the cellar and around the winery. Martinenga also hosts an experimental vineyard for the clonal selection of Nebbiolo: eleven clones on 2,600 square meters, monitored by the estate's team with agronomists and enologists of the National Research Council (CNR) to study how different clones respond to climate change.

• Underground (hypogean) barrique cellar
• Solar panels on part of the cellar roof and the parking area
• Aromatic garden on the terrace above the cellar
• Experimental Nebbiolo clone vineyard: eleven clones, 2,600 square meters, with the CNR

In September 2022 the estate announced the release of Gaiun Martinenga 2018 and Camp Gros Martinenga Riserva 2017 through La Place de Bordeaux, the first Barbaresco wines distributed there, via Timothée Moreau of Bureau des Grands Vins and a pool of five négociants. Writing in Decanter, Andrew Jefford scored the Camp Gros Martinenga 2010 at 94 points.

• First Barbaresco wines on La Place de Bordeaux: release scheduled for 26 September 2022
• Decanter (Andrew Jefford): Camp Gros Martinenga 2010, 94 points

Marchesi di Grésy states its aim as "Wines of the highest qualitative level that don't over-power, but astonish for their extreme elegance and complexity," with winemaking that completes the vineyard work rather than altering it. In Decanter, Stephen Brook wrote that the emphasis is on elegance rather than power, and that the estate's wines, especially Martinenga, are sometimes underestimated because of their seeming lightness.

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.marchesidigresy.com/en, https://www.marchesidigresy.com/en/letenute, https://www.marchesidigresy.com/en/martinenga, https://www.marchesidigresy.com/en/monte-aribaldo, https://www.marchesidigresy.com/en/la-serra, https://www.marchesidigresy.com/en/monte-colombo, https://www.marchesidigresy.com/en/i-vini, https://www.marchesidigresy.com/en/sostenibilita, https://www.marchesidigresy.com/en/wine-resort. Secondary sources: Decanter (Andrew Jefford, last updated 21 February 2019; Stephen Brook, last updated 8 April 2020) and The Drinks Business (16 September 2022). Last verified 2026-10-19. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.