Poderi Marcarini

In the mid-19th century Sebastiano Marcarini, a general of the Sabaudian army, began vinifying Nebbiolo grapes as Barolo for domestic use and as gifts for royal receptions at the Sabaudian court. His son Giulio Marcarini co-founded the Consorzio dei vini tipici di Barolo e Barbaresco on 30 June 1934, together with other historic winemakers of the Langhe hills. The notary Giuseppe Marcarini was the first in the family to sell bottles under his own brand, together with his daughter Anna, and in the 1960s he and his enologist Elvio Cogno launched Barolo under the Cogno-Marcarini brand. From the beginning of the 1980s Anna Marcarini expanded the holdings in the Brunate and La Serra crus and added Dolcetto and Barbera to the range. In 1990 her daughter Luisa, born of Anna's marriage to the lawyer Giovanni Bava, inherited the family estates and built the Poderi Marcarini business with her husband Manuel Marchetti. The winery has also bought half a hectare in località Berri, 6 hectares in Neviglie (2 of them planted to hazelnuts) and 2 hectares in the Roero hills.

• Mid-19th century: Sebastiano Marcarini begins making Barolo for domestic use and for the Sabaudian court
• 30 June 1934: Giulio Marcarini co-founds the Consorzio dei vini tipici di Barolo e Barbaresco
• 1960s: Giuseppe Marcarini and enologist Elvio Cogno launch the Cogno-Marcarini brand
• 1990: Luisa Bava, Anna Marcarini's daughter, inherits the family estates
• The company trades as Azienda Agricola Poderi Marcarini di Bava Luisa e C.

Luisa Bava and Manuel Marchetti built the modern Poderi Marcarini business from 1990, and their children Andrea, Chiara and Elisa have entered the family business. Manuel Marchetti brought experience as an international manager to the winery. Elvio Cogno (d. 2016) met Giuseppe Marcarini in La Morra in the early 1960s, when Marcarini needed a cellar master; Cogno's first vintage was 1964, from the Brunate vineyard. He later became a partner in Marcarini and made its wines until 1990, when he bought land in the Ravera cru in Novello to found his own estate.

• Luisa Bava and Manuel Marchetti: built the Poderi Marcarini business from 1990
• Andrea, Chiara and Elisa: the couple's children, in the family business
• Elvio Cogno (d. 2016): Marcarini's enologist from the 1964 vintage, later a partner, until 1990

The vineyards, all owned by Marcarini, are the center of the winery's activity: Brunate and La Serra in La Morra, Sargentin in Neviglie, which is particularly suited to Moscato, and Muschiavino in the town of Montaldo Roero. Altogether the estate covers 25 hectares, and the varieties grown are exclusively Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, Barbera, Arneis and white Moscato. Brunate has been recognized as one of the Langhe's most important cru zones since the 1300s and is today an officially recognized Menzione Geografica Aggiuntiva; the family has owned a considerable part of it for several generations. Farming uses pruning to limit grape production, maintenance composting with organic substances and controlled grassing of the vine rows, and vine diseases are treated with products based on traditional methods.

• Brunate: 4.5 hectares in the La Morra and Barolo zones, average altitude 300 m, south and southwest exposure, calcareous and argillaceous soil, planting dates 1978 and 1987
• La Serra: 4 hectares in La Morra, average altitude 380 m, south and southwest exposure, planting dates 1992 and 2002; ripening comes a little later than in Brunate
• Boschi di Berri: 0.5 hectares of Dolcetto in La Morra, planted in the late 1800s on native vines with no rootstock, at 400 m with a west exposure and 4,400 plants per hectare
• Sargentin (Neviglie) supplies the Moscato; Muschiavino lies in Montaldo Roero

The range comprises three Barolos (Brunate, La Serra and Barolo del Comune di La Morra), Langhe Nebbiolo Lasarin, Barbera d'Alba Ciabot Camerano, two Dolcetto d'Alba bottlings (Boschi di Berri Prefillossera and Fontanazza), Roero Arneis, Moscato d'Asti and Barolo Chinato. The Barolo del Comune di La Morra dates from 2015, when the arrival of the new generation led the family to vinify together part of the grapes from its historic La Morra vineyards. Anna Marcarini coined the name Lasarin for Nebbiolo from the younger vineyards in La Serra; today Lasarin comes from the youngest Nebbiolo vineyards, in particular the Nebbiolo vineyard in Neviglie. The Boschi di Berri vineyard was saved from phylloxera by its partially sandy soil and particular microclimate.

• Barolo Brunate DOCG and Barolo La Serra DOCG: the two single-cru Barolos
• Barolo del Comune di La Morra DOCG: first made from 2015, from historic La Morra vineyards
• Langhe Nebbiolo Lasarin: from the youngest Nebbiolo vineyards, in particular in Neviglie
• Dolcetto d'Alba Boschi di Berri Prefillossera: from ungrafted vines saved from phylloxera
• Moscato d'Asti DOCG from the Cascina Sargentin vineyards; Barolo Chinato from an infusion of China Calissaya bark and alpine herbs in aged Barolo

Marcarini calls itself 'traditionalist' in its winemaking. For the Barolo Brunate, fermentation is strictly controlled, maceration of the must on the skins lasts at least four weeks, and after malolactic fermentation the wine ages in medium-sized oak barrels of 20 to 40 hectolitres for at least two years. La Serra follows the same traditional methods, ageing two years in Slavonian oak barrels of 20 to 40 hectolitres, and is bottled without clarification or filtration. Since 2015 the grapes for these Barolos have been selected during the harvest. In the estate's own notes, La Serra is a very elegant and apparently less structured wine than Brunate, with hints of violet, rose, liquorice and sweet spices.

• Maceration on the skins of at least four weeks for the single-cru Barolos
• Ageing in medium-sized oak barrels of 20 to 40 hectolitres for at least two years
• La Serra bottled without clarification or filtration
• Grape selection at harvest since 2015

The cellars are at Piazza Martiri 2 in La Morra, in an 18th-century building beside a medieval tower that overlooks the vineyards below. Since 2013 the estate has run a Wine Shop on Via Umberto I in the historic center of La Morra, dedicated to the tasting and purchase of the estate's wines, where visitors can book a private tour and a personalized tasting. Agriturismo Marcarini occupies a carefully restored 18th-century building a few kilometers from Alba.

• Cellars: Piazza Martiri 2, La Morra
• Wine Shop and tours: Via Umberto I 34, La Morra, open since 2013

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://marcarini.it/en/, https://marcarini.it/en/history/, https://marcarini.it/en/the-vineyards/, https://marcarini.it/en/the-wine-cellars/, https://marcarini.it/en/wines/, https://marcarini.it/en/winery-tours/, and the estate's technical sheets (PDF): https://marcarini.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Brunate_EN.pdf, https://marcarini.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/La_Serra_EN.pdf, https://marcarini.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Dolcetto_Boschi_ENG.pdf, https://marcarini.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/La_Morra_EN.pdf. Secondary source: Decanter (11 November 2024). Last verified 2026-10-19. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.