A stone’s throw from the village center of Barbaresco, Giovanni Giordano established his family winery in the 1930s during a time of profound crisis in the Italian wine world. After a period of growing and selling grapes, Giovanni’s son, Luigi, made the bold decision to vinify his own fruit, bottling the first wine under his label in 1958. For an independent grower like Luigi to bottle his own wine at a time when plans to establish an official appellation in Barbaresco were only in their infancy was nearly unthinkable. Today’s winery remains a spirited family effort, driven by the shared vision of Luigi himself, his daughter Laura, and his grandson Matteo. Together, they produce timeless wines from vineyards planted in some of Barbaresco’s most prestigious crus, including Asili and Montestefano. Another Barbaresco bottling from the cru of Cavanna showcases the winery’s elegant, hands-off style of winemaking and represents the only single- vineyard bottling of its kind.

Among all the vineyards of Barbaresco, few command as much respect as Asili, championed by many legendary producers including Produttori del Barbaresco, Ceretto, and Bruno Giacosa, who was the first to bottle Asili under a single-vineyard label in 1967. The cru of Asili features sand veins snaking their way through otherwise chalky clay soils, giving rise to wines with profound tension and elegance as well as bright aromatics and understated power. The Giordano family's parcel is at the southwestern corner of the vineyard, where it bends toward the cru of Faset. Once considered less desirable than due-south-facing plots, this cooler aspect now offers fruit of great balance and complexity in the current era of rising temperatures.

While business grew and Luigi established himself as a grower-producer during the second half of the twentieth century, the winery continued to invest in the land. The vineyards of the estate now stretch across seven hectares in Barbaresco on the slopes of prestigious crus like Montestefano, Asili, Ovello, Ronchi, Cars, and Cavanna. Giordano grows exclusively indigenous varieties, including Nebbiolo, Barbera, and Arneis on these legendary hills. Today, Luigi remains an inspiring presence as his daughter Laura and grandson Matteo, a graduate of the enology school in Alba, have gradually assumed daily activities in the vineyard and the cellar.

The family also produces wine from the similarly grand Montestefano cru. This vineyard was the first in all of Barbaresco to be bottled as a single cru by Beppe Colla in the historic Prunotto estate in 1961. Both Luigi Giordano and Produttori del Barbaresco followed suit in 1971. Montestefano is prized for its heavy, blue-toned clay soils famous for producing structured, powerful, deeply colored wines, which have been described as “the most Barolo among Barbarescos” by A Wine Atlas of the Langhe. This indispensable tome covering the wines of the Langhe alludes to Montestefano’s unmistakable notes of leather, tobacco, and truffle, all of which are reflected in Giordano’s exceptional version. Compared to the winery’s other Barbaresco bottlings, Montestefano typically undergoes a few extra days of maceration
in cement tanks and two additional months in botti, after which the wine is returned to cement before bottling.

In 1971, Luigi was faced with a difficult decision: his Montestefano vineyard needed to be replanted. With a heavy heart, he undertook the task but couldn't bring himself to pull out the two rows, planted in 1958, at the very top of the slope. Today, these surviving rows of over 60-year-old Lampia clone vines, with direct southern exposure at 280 meters asl, go into their Riserva, bottled exclusively in magnum bottles, of which just 500 are produced in suitable vintages.

The calling card of the winery is the family’s single-vineyard Barbaresco bottling from Cavanna. This vineyard is tucked just below the historic castle of Barbaresco, affording a sweeping view of the Tanaro River valley and the Roero just to the northwest. Prominent neighbors inside the cru include Angelo Gaja, Moccagatta, and De Forville, though Giordano owns the heart of the vineyard and, consequently, is the only producer to bottle Cavanna as a single vineyard. This amphitheater’s combination of sand and clay yields the sort of red-cherry fruit and fine tannin that make for a wildly popular glass-pour option given its serious value.