Michele Chiarlo has a precise idea for the wine: great bottles are born from the meticulous and constant attention given to every aspect of vinification.
A care which begins in the vineyard and, passing through the winery, comes to embrace transversal aspects of the wine experience: sustainability, art, culture, events, winery visits and hospitality.
The qualitative consistency of Michele Chiarlo wines is born in the vineyard, on the hillsides of the Langhe and Monferrato, which UNESCO has awarded World Heritage Site recognition.
Working the vineyard is a question of having discipline in the choices, in the practices and in the timescales.
Harvest’s hands (photo by Giuseppe Fiorentino)
Choices which prioritise the vocation, the history, the prestige of the places suitable for the vines. Which materialise in the decision to only vinify indigenous varieties of grape, using the iconic and historic varieties of Piedmont: Nebbiolo, Barbera, Cortese and Moscato. Choices which always prioritise excellence over quantity: we have never bottled our great Crus in poorer years, where the quality did not seem satisfactory.
Practices which respect the natural evolution of the vineyards, researched because the varieties express themselves in their full recognisability, effortlessly. Practices which provide for the safeguarding of the soil, the vines and the people who work them, attempting to preserve the biodiversity and equilibrium of the ecosystem. Which prioritise natural fertilisation, cover cropping, green manure with nutritious extracts, meticulous green operations, targeted, never excessive, qualitative thinning, carried out vineyard by vineyard, parcel by parcel, strain by strain in accordance with an artisanal philosophy which considers each bunch of grapes to be a microcosm whose uniqueness and personality are to be developed and preserved.
Timescales, meticulous and correct, never hurried or late. Thanks to a constant presence in the vineyards, together with the experience gained over the years, the analyses conducted in our laboratories, the meticulous tastings of the grapes in the field, the selection of bunches and the manual harvesting.
Manual harvest (photo by Minasso)
The style of Michele Chiarlo wines is expressed through the quest for balance, elegance, taste and complexity. Long-lived and well structured wines which maintain the memory of the terroirs from which they are born and continue to communicate over time.
The integrity and perfection of the fruit harvested in the vineyard are the heart of every operation in the winery. We practice a traditional style, never excessive, classic, recognisable and qualitatively consistent.
We prefer soft pressing, designed not to tear the skin of the grapes, fermentations and macerations attentive to a polyphenic extraction respectful of the distinctive character of the varietal. As it was in the past, the great Cru ferment in vertical wooden vats, with frequent wetting of the cap and controlled temperatures, aimed at holding on to and exalting the characteristics the grapes expressed in the vineyard.
Michele Chiarlo – Refractometer (photo by Giuseppe Fiorentino)
We separately vinify each parcel in our vineyards which we have subdivided, where we check the quality and evolution with frequent tastings, before assemblage.
More bottles, less wood. The use of wood is dosed so that its addition does not overpower the character of the grape variety. Barolo, Barbesco and Nebbiolo mature in medium and large barrels. For Barbera and Nizza, we alternate large and small wood, scrupulously striving to maintain a fresh and seductive fruit. Our whites mature in steel, at controlled temperatures, for the purpose of highlight the freshness, vibrant acidity, and the appetising and fragrant floral and citrus notes of their vines of origin. All the great Crus are bottle-aged for at least one year, a long period which promotes the right degree of maturation before its availability on the market.
