Ca' del Baio 'Autinbej' Barbaresco 2021
For four generations Ca’ del Baio has been a family affair, as is the tradition in the Langhe. Nurtured and passed down from father to children, the vineyards surrounding the Grasso family farmhouse have been added to over time through marriage and acquisitions.
Today it is Giulio and Luciana who, together with their daughters Paola, Valentina and Federica, handle all the various areas of the business with passion and expertise, from the growing and vinification of the grapes, to hospitality and wine sales.
The Ca’ del Baio estate consists of 31 hectares of vineyards in the villages of Barbaresco, Treiso and Trezzo Tinella: the first two municipalities are part of Barbaresco winegrowing area, the last one is part of the popular Alta Langa region, which is now famous for white wines, cereals and hazelnuts.
All estate-grown, their wines are made from a range of highly valued varieties, some typical of the area while others are more international: the whites include Moscato, Chardonnay and Riesling, and the reds Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto.
The wines from Ca’ del Baio have now won a place among the elite in both the Italian and international markets, and it was thus no coincidence that in 2016 Giulio Grasso was awarded the very prestigious award “Viticoltore dell’anno” (“Winemaker of the Year” ) by the highly respected Italian wine guide “Gambero Rosso”.
The 2021 Autinbej is a gorgeous entry-level offering from a stellar vintage in Piedmont: bright, translucent, and full of energy. Aromas of raspberry jam, potpourri, cinnamon, sweet violets, and new leather all grace an exquisite bouquet. On the palate, there’s complex layered fruit, crisp acidity and focused cherry pit minerality, upheld by velvety, slightly dusty tannins with cacao and licorice on the finish. An exceedingly approachable and vibrant Barbaresco that is essentially ready to drink, but will improve with aging.
Autinbej is a tribute to Giulio Grasso’s late father, Ernesto, who often used the Piemontese word to describe the best vineyard exposures. The first Autinbej harvest was in 2014, a year generally considered difficult in other parts of Piemonte and Italy, but successful in the small enclave of the Barbaresco denomination thanks to very favorable climatic conditions that year.
