The label says Renzo. The hill says Ginestra.

The Seghesio on this label is Renzo, in Monforte d'Alba, and the Seghesio most people in California already know is a different house. The family has been in the Langhe since 1900. In 1968 they sold the cascina in the hamlet of Sant'Anna and moved the cellar into the center of town, where it still stands. Renzo served as mayor of Monforte d'Alba.

In 1986 he began buying the fruit from Cascina Pajana, on the east side of the commune, and in 1996 he bought the plot. Part of that ground is Vigna Pajana, a steep southeast slope on the white Formazione di Lequio, and it has its own Barolo. The other part is west-facing Ginestra, on the Marne di Sant'Agata. This bottle is the Ginestra, and it is 100% Nebbiolo.

He studied winemaking in Alba, took a biology degree in Turin, and worked as a cartographer before the cellar took the whole week. The cru is named for the broom flower. If that is the hill in the glass, what do you want it to prove?

West-facing Ginestra

Ginestra sits inside Monforte d'Alba, and Renzo's piece of it faces west. The soil under that slope is the Marne di Sant'Agata, the marl the Langhe is known for. The grape is Nebbiolo from the first cluster to the bottle.

James Suckling tasted this 2019 in June 2023. He wrote of ground spices, bark, and nutmeg with dried wild strawberries and dried flowers, a medium to full body, fine tannins, vivid acidity, and a finish that stays dry and earthy. He said to try it after 2026.

The wine is built to be waited on. He pointed to a pour after 2026. Open it earlier only if you give it a long decant, and let the tannin have the evening.

Nebbiolo, then the large casks

This is Barolo DOCG, and the grape is Nebbiolo the whole way. The fruit comes from Renzo's west-facing Ginestra, not from the Vigna Pajana bottling and not from the Barolo del comune di Monforte that the house also makes from the wider cru.

The cellar works in stainless steel, with pump-overs and, on some lots, a submerged cap. The Barolo then goes into large oak casks. The house keeps the work classic, and the casks are there so the wine can take its time.

Harvest still leaves the rows in crates, and the must still runs into the vat. That is how this cellar starts a Barolo, on a hill above Monforte, before the wine ever sees oak.

A cellar in the center of Monforte

The family has been in these hills since 1900, and the cellar has been in the center of Monforte since 1968. They sold the old cascina in Sant'Anna that year and moved the work into town. Renzo's name is the one on the Barolo.

His sons Federico and Raffaele work with him on the cellar. The ground at Cascina Pajana came into the family in 1996, after a decade of buying the fruit. Ginestra and Vigna Pajana share that purchase, and they do not share this bottle.

If the label in your hand says Renzo, you are in Piedmont. The Sonoma house that carries a similar name is a different family story. This glass is Monforte, and the hill is Ginestra.

A long braise, or rice and mushrooms

A Ginestra wants a long braise, or rice and mushrooms. Nebbiolo tannin softens next to beef that has spent hours in the pot, and the rose and the spice in the glass stay in the air above the bowl.

The other plate is rice. Porcini and cremini bring the same earth the finish already has, and the cream of a risotto lets the acidity of the wine stay bright.