SIX YEARS AFTER THE RUSSIAN OLIGARCH ROUSTAM TARIKO, BOUGHT GANCIA VALLARINO ESTATES, THEY ARE NOW RETURNING TO PIEDMONT OWNERS: OSCAR FARINETTI HAS BOUGHT TENUTA BRICCO ASINARI, WHILE THE DAMILANO BRAND HAS ACQUIRED TENUTA RAGAZZI

Six years later and the Russian experience of Gancia Vallarino Estates has come to an end. The oligarch Roustam Tariko bought the Estates in 2011, and they have now returned to Italian, or rather, Piedmont hands. The Italian daily "La Stampa" (www.lastampa.it), revealed the news that Canelli’s company has decided to focus solely on the production of sparklings and has ceded Tenuta Bricco Asinari of San Marzano Oliveto (15 hectares, cultivated mainly Barbera, but also Nebbiolo) and Tenuta Ragazzi di Casorzo (20 hectares of Barbera, as well as Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay), on which only still wines are produced.
First of all, Oscar Farinetti and his partner Piero Bagnasco bought back Bricco Asinari. The two founded an agricultural company in Asinari of which 50% belongs to the Borgogno di Barolo company and 50% to the Brandini La Morra company. This is just the latest expansion in the last few months for Borgogno, after Boroli bought 10 hectares of vineyards on the hills of Madonna Como and 3 hectares of Timorasso in Monleale, Tortona.
“There are not just the Langhe in the South of Piedmont; indeed, each territory”, Andrea Farinetti, head of Fontanafredda and Borgogno, explained to WineNews, “is perfect for a different wine - Nebbiolo in Langa, Timorasso in Tortona and Barbera in Monferrato. Therefore, this acquisition follows the path we have set for ourselves, and that is to produce great wines only in truly desirable territories. Instead of expanding the Borgogno proposal, there will be a different company: Asinari Valley”, continued Andrea Farinetti, “which will be certified organic, including some experimentation in bio dynamics, and the ambition to produce the best Barbera in the world. There are 15 hectares of productive vineyards, and some portions are cultivated with Nebbiolo and Merlot - the future is still wide open”.

Paolo Damilano, owner of his namesake company, located between Barolo and La Morra, who bought the 20 hectares of the Ragazzi Estate of Casorzo, has an equally ambitious project. “We were already very familiar with the 20 hectares of Tenuta Ragazzi that we just bought, well before the arrival of Tariko, as we had rented them for years when Gancia owned them”, Paolo Damilano told WineNews.
“This is why we are happy to have closed the deal. We are perfectly aware of the quality, and besides Barbera, there are also rows of Chardonnay and more, but our goal, here, is to produce only Barbera. This is an operation”, concluded Damilano, “that is following a precise direction, and it is projecting our company to the future, when we will live the inevitable passage of generations. The link with territory is fundamental and inseparable for us”.