Barolo, Piedmont
The Story
Giovanni Canonica is a subtle man, who makes slightly wild auteur-artisan Barolo tradizionale. They live above the modest lo-fi cellar in Barolo village, and have a handy agriturismo (B&B) upstairs, called Il Quarto Stato. Until 2012, he farmed his modest 1.5ha of Barolo cru Paiagallo, which one could see up the hill from the street. Taking on his in-laws’ vines in Grinzane Cavour basically doubled his activity. People throw the words legend, unicorn, coveted, hero etc at Giovanni, but these are words of the market, not his kind of language. His wines most remind me of Henri Bonneau or Paolo Bea – not in terms of genre, rather of being unafraid of rustic simplicity – which is the source of his quality. The wines are not shrinking violets.
Links
Wines
Reds
Langhe nebbiolo
Barolo Grinzane Cavour
Barolo cru Paiagallo
