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Piedmont, Italy

Fabio Gea

Fabio

His grandfather, "Nòtu", managed a nursery in the Barbaresco area and took advantage of this to create one of the most varied, resistant and qualitative vineyards in the region. This little treasure is now in the hands of Fabio Gea, and the least we can say is that his wines are a tribute to the work of his late grandfather...

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Fabio Gea at a glance

CountryItaly
RegionPiedmont
VillageBricco di Neive
Size2 hectares
Cultivated grapesBarbera, Nebbiolo, Dolcetto
First vintage2010
Our favoritesDNAss, Green Palma, Muschroom Panda

Nòtu seguiva le gocce d'acqua

Fabio Gea, a geologist by training, is definitely an unusual winemaker in many ways. Nestled in the hills near Barbaresco, in Piedmont, where he took over the family vineyards, carefully selected by his grandfather, Nòtu, Fabio is dedicated to extremely precise viticulture, having selected plants from all over the region, like his grandfather before him. Today he boasts a massal selection of almost 15 varieties of Nebbiolo, on just under 2 hectares of vines.

Back in the days, the vineyards of Piedmont were planted with nearly 200 different varieties, hard to imagine from a region that today worships almost only Nebbiolo, the spearhead of appellations such as Barolo or Barbaresco. The survivors of this rich diversity, Barbera, Dolcetto, Grignolino... are all cultivated by Fabio and put forward in his own cuvées or in blends.

The vines are mostly planted with other plants and fruit trees to enhance biodiversity and Fabio barely treats the vines, with very low doses of sulphur and copper, and some herbal remedies.

The Barbaresco region is often associated with excessive and uninteresting use of wood. Fabio, on the other hand, is developing his own style, notably with the experimental use of jars, amphorae or eggs, made of porcelain, stoneware or terracotta, for the maturing and ageing of the wines, in the purest respect of the path traced by his grandfather.

In the cellar, Fabio seeks to maximise the impact of the different energies during fermentation and ageing, using wood only when appropriate, and mainly for the appellation wines, in accordance with the Barbaresco specifications. The result is undeniable, the wines are lively, with a touch and vivacity that is rare enough, especially in the region and for these grapes, and this is true throughout the range, from the more vibrant and fresh Grignolino to the more serious Nebbiolo.

The final touch, the bottles specially collected by Fabio, the handmade paper and the labels, hand-numbered in pencil. These are resolutely elegant, light wines that invite you to meditate on Fabio's beautiful "follies".

Dinosaurs' eggs

One of Fabio's trademarks are the porcelain eggs he uses for the fermentation and maturation of some of his wines. These eggs were conceived and designed by Fabio himself and are made in China, the original home of porcelain. Even more accomplished than stoneware or terracotta, this material is almost like glass, but with a reasoning that is even more conducive to wine-making.

At trade shows, he likes to compare his "eggs" to dinosaur eggs and he even installed an inflatable dinosaur nearly 15 metres high in front of the La Dive Bouteille trade show in February 2020 to promote this way of making wine...

The village of Bricco di Neive, Italy

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