Paitin

The Paitin estate, situated in Serraboella south and east of Neive in the Langhe has been selling wine labelled Barbaresco since 1893, making it one of the most historical properties in Piemonte.

It has been run by Giovanni Pasquero-Elia and his brother, Silvano since the 1980s and together they have carefully brought the estate up to date while preserving the traditions handed down through their family’s generations.

The property has been in the family since 1796 when Giovanni and Silvano's father, Secondo took over the winery in 1948 and started replanting after the devastation of two world wars and phylloxera. From 1953, the new vineyard started producing the estate’s flagship wine, the Barbaresco Vecchie Vigne Riserva which now runs to 5,000 bottles.

Nowadays, Paitin bottles two other Barbareschi from the estate’s vineyards, with the 10,000-bottle Serraboella result of a cuvée of different terroirs present in the west side of Serraboella, with plants aged 25 to 35 years – and the Sori’ Paitin a single vineyard in the center of Serraboella, produced from vines of 40 (and more) years, most of which have been planted with the mass selection of the best clones of the estate.

Another key change for the estate is when Giovanni phased out rotary fermentators in 2010 and restarted using traditional submerged cap fermentations – as advised by consulting oenologist Dante Scaglione, a former classmate of Giovanni’s from oenology school.

“It was time to invest in the future,” said Giovanni. “We wanted to make wine to last without the bitterness associated with reduction and express more of the unique terroir. By doing so, we have managed to retain a great many older vintages starting from 1999 which have excellent ageing potential.”

Finally, the arrival of Luca in 2016 has given even more attention to what a terroir wine must be, working to ensure that each plot can express its uniqueness. It is no coincidence that in 2018 an additional Cru will be added: the historic Basarin hill of Neive, and in the future other plots will come to light. The will is to enhance the territory of Barbaresco in its ability to make immortal wines that face time with their own unique and incomparable elegance.