Reviews

Pierangelo and Andrea Careglio, father and son, run this beautiful reality. To their credit, it must be said that they do so in an area of the Roero where wine producers are truly few. A territory not particularly suited, someone might think: a lack of will and poor knowledge of the area’s potential, we would say, because the wines of this winery are good and convincing. The geographical mentions of Baldissero are only two, Costabella and Valmezzana: it is precisely from the latter vineyard that comes a more than convincing interpretation of Nebbiolo, which gives a typical and territorial Roero. Roero Valmezzana Riserva 2020: (awarded 4 VINES) Classic garnet color, the nose opens up welcoming and inviting, immediately fresh and balsamic. It tells, in a beautiful and precise progression, of macerated fruit, light spices, medicinal herbs, and tea leaves. On the palate, a truly territorial taste emerges, tannins already soft as the vintage wants, and a beautiful and satisfying persistence. Milanese risotto with ossobuco.

LIFE: In 2023, a blue bow was hung on the winery door to celebrate the birth of Edoardo, son of Andrea Careglio, the current head of the winery. When asked about any new developments in the cellar, Andrea replied that he must prepare the way for Edoardo. For this reason, new temperature-controlled tanks and a new press capable of performing a particularly soft pressing have been introduced.
VINEYARDS: The vineyards have suffered damage due to the drought, which has particularly affected the younger vines. Although the average age of the vineyards is 15 years, it has been necessary to replace over 2000 vines. To improve vineyard management and reduce the impact of agricultural operations, new machines are being introduced to increase mechanization and optimize work, minimizing the number of passes between the rows.
WINES: The house style is classic but does not indulge in unnecessary, technical excesses. There is always an identity in Andrea’s wines. Roero Riserva Valmezzana 2020: Great depth and compactness. Warm, mature, and spicy tones combine with a sapid and mineral soul, elevating the sip in an exceptional way. The lively acidity and well-integrated tannins make the tasting experience dynamic and satisfying. Roero Arneis 2023: Fresh and fragrant, with notes of yellow fruit and herbs, and enriched by a citrusy veil. The sip is soft and tempered by a gentle freshness. Langhe Nebbiolo 2022: Presents floral and red fruit aromas. On the palate it is linear, immediate, and of good persistence. A gastronomic wine, ideal to accompany a wide range of dishes. Rosato Gramplin 2023: Floral, fresh, gastronomic.

The Careglio family winery has been one of the most interesting in the Roero landscape for some years now. The vineyards are located both on the typical sandy soils of marine origin and on soils with a higher presence of limestone and clay, and see the presence of Arneis, Barbera, and Nebbiolo, in addition to a small plot of Pinot Nero. The wines, of beautiful technical workmanship, are designed to best express both the varietal characteristics and those of the territory. This year, the Roero Arneis Savij Riserva plays the leading role in the company range: the 2020 version presents itself on the nose with notes of fresh citrus fruits, ginger, and rosemary, followed by a fresh, gritty palate, with good pulp and juice, and a long and pleasant finish. The Roero Valmezzana Riserva 2020, with its good softness and volume, is well made, but still marked by wood and with a finish that highlights notes of sweet fruit, and the Roero Arneis 2023, with its aromas of jasmine and almond, good citrus freshness and sapidity, are also well done.

If we look at a wine map of Roero, Baldissero d’Alba appears on the edge, with only two mentioned vineyards: Costabella and Valmezzana. Don’t be fooled by this marginality, because the territory is vocated and can give great expressions of Nebbiolo and Arneis. A reliable witness is this winery, which every year offers us precise and identitarian wines to taste. It is precisely from the Valmezzana vineyard that a Roero comes that strikes for how it manages to combine richness and drinkability. An invitation to discover, not only in the glass, less known and unjustly underestimated areas.

Roero Valmezzana Riserva 2019: the ruby color is already tending towards garnet. The nose is immediately sweet and welcoming: pine needles, sweet macerated fruit, spices, incense, and light tobacco. The sip is consistent and rich, with tannins that are still a bit rough and a product of the vintage, balanced by a nice freshness and a great and territorial sapidity. Persistent and good. Black truffle risotto.

Founded in 1986 by Pierangelo Careglio, this small family-run winery, thanks to the impetus given by his son Andrea, is now regularly among the best in the region. The owned vineyards are located in the municipality of Baldissero d’Alba and are situated on diverse soils, from sandy to those with a higher presence of limestone and clay. The cultivated vines are Arneis, Barbera, and Nebbiolo, alongside a small plot of Pinot Noir. The proposed wines have a modern approach, with a great attention to the expression of a strong territorial character. Excellent are the Barbera d’Alba 2021, in which aromas of berries, spices, and roots are followed by a gritty palate, rich in fruit, long, fresh, and pleasant, and the Roero Valmezzana Riserva 2019, which on the nose shows notes of ripe black fruits with balsamic nuances, while on the palate it has a good structure, with tannins still evident but with a juicy finish. Worthy of note is the Langhe Favorita 2022, with notes of yellow fruit and saffron, fresh and pleasant.

LIFE: Andrea Careglio, recently a father to Edoardo, maintains a high commitment and clear objectives: to produce ever better wines, to work for the Roero area, and to continue to push for change. His father Pierangelo, who started the winery within the walls of their home, supports him in the vineyard. For eleven years they have abandoned chemical weeding between the rows, and they are among those who have promoted, together with the Consortium, the idea of a Roero free from herbicides.
VINEYARDS: The sole winemakers in Baldissero d’Alba, they are gradually integrating their vineyards into a single body, thanks to the acquisition of new plots, also to better protect the vines from disease attacks. There are 10 hectares with a southern and south-eastern exposure, on mostly sandy soils: more than 50% of the area is lovingly dedicated to the cultivation of Arneis.
WINES: The approach is dedicated to technical precision for wines that are reliable.
Roero Arneis Savij 2019: Savij in Piedmontese means wise: it is a wine that knows how to wait for its moment. It welcomes with a sly smile, gentle but present, waving notes of sage and flint, to remind us that Arneis can ignite passions even years later.
Roero Riserva 2019: from the Valmezzana vineyard, a mention of the municipality of Baldissero, it opens with a nose with notes of pepper and has a precise and lean mouthfeel.
Pinot Nero Arvagia 2021: debut for Pinot Noir. The name derives from the dialect, too, and means redemption, precisely for having reclaimed the field from uncultivated land and brambles in 2017. A small liberation that expresses itself with varietal frankness.
Barbera d’Alba 2021: fruity, straightforward, food-friendly.
Roero Arneis 2022: savory, enveloping, dynamic.

From the well-tended property vineyards, located on sandy and sandstone soil at high-altitude called “Bric”,it born an excellent Roero Docg is perfumed with rose, violet and orange peel. A powerful wine with tannins that are still important, consistent, fresh and dry in its long finish.

Good also the Langhe Nebbiolo, with fresh and floral wisteria lucerne, and a Favorita typical and fruity, with a sapid and soft mouth. Very pleasant the Roero Arneis, fresh and with citrus and mineral aromas.

This small family business founded in 1986 cultivates the vines typical of the Roero area: Arneis, Barbera, Favorita and Nebbiolo in its 8 hectares of vineyards and offers a range of excellent quality wines.

This year we especially liked the 2013 Roero, one of the best of the typology, thanks to the aromas of small red fruits, incense and wet earth with spicy nuances, while on the palate, even if the tannins are still a bit aggressive, it is long and pulpy, rich in fruit and savory.

Az. Agr. Careglio Pierangelo: Andrea and his father, Pierangelo, make the wine at this small winery established in 1986. They have 8 Ha of organically cultivated vines, including 4,6 Ha of Arneis, and a total production of about 30 thousand bottles. The vineyards have a predominantly southern exposure. Careglio puts the focus on traditional winemaking with no skin contact for the Arneis. This is the only producer in Baldissero d’Alba.
CAREGLIO Roero Arneis 2015 90 points: A mineral-driven Arneis with substantial breadth on the palate, showing aromas and flavors of orchard fruit. Quite delicious with a rich, full palate and good extract with a chalky finish. A blend of fruit of different vineyards, most with a southerly exposure.
CAREGLIO Roero 2013 90 points: the Careglio Roero offers aromas of fresh red berries, cherry, plum, and underbrush. It’s soft on the attack with a silky texture and fine, dry tannins. The wine is a blend of two different vineyards in Baldissero d’Alba. Aged in 10 Hl oak casks.

“Andrea Careglio is the young winemaker at the helm of this beautiful family that we could see it grow a lot in the last years in terms of quality. Andrea, born in 1986, has always given his contribution on the company, and since 2008 he has been doing it full-time. In addition to the commitment between their own four walls, we like to remember his efforts for the promotion of the territory. Currently it is councilor of the Consorzio vini del Roero. Is planned the construction of a new cellar.
Andrea focuses on the classic vines of the territory, vinified in a traditional way and without overwhelming technical interventions.
The Roero Arneis 2015 has structure and softness, it closes fresh and savory.
The Langhe Favorita 2015 is more simple, linear and graceful. About the red wines,
it stand out the red Roero 2013, refined in barrels of 10 hectoliters: broad, clear and very “roerino” about the aromas of ripe red fruit, is structured but agile on the palate, with tannins that emerges in the closing. Also the Langhe Nebbiolo 2014 exhibits a recognizable territorial stamp, but the aromas are more youthful and the palate is very slender, with solid tannic grip. The fresh vintage gave Barbera 2014 less pulpy than usual.”

Pierangelo Careglio founded this small company in 1986 and today, together with his son Andrea, he proposes a series of wines of good quality and typicality.
Their Roero Arneis 2014 is one of the best we have tasted of this difficult vintage.

The nose is complex, with floral aromas of broom and iodine tones in the background, while at the palate is simpler and smoother, but still savory, with good fruit and freshness.

“The only producer of Baldissero d’Alba, Andrea always surprises us. His skills and his active enthusiasm in the local Consorzio roerino are positive signs of a growing territory. A small production at the sign of quality, with wines always clean and traditional. Even the average exit prices of its bottles are definitely honest, being able to boast a not indifferent quality.
Andrea looks for typicality and freshness in his wines through traditional vinifications and classic fermentations. The Langhe Favorita 2014 is exemplary in this sense, with an extraordinary drinkability and fruity. The Roero Arneis 2014 is persistent and with a finish of white pulp fruit. the rosè Gramplin 2014 plays on the freshness combined with the acidity of the grapes . Floral notes and fine tannins for the Langhe Nebbiolo 2014. Roero 2012 (“VINO SLOW”) it is certainly not a example of power, but has elegance and finesse of record. One of the best tasting of the denomination. A very welcome surprise, with territorial matrix definitely recognizable and enjoyable.”

Wine & ratings:
Roero Careglio 2012
91 Points

CAREGLIO PIERANGELO: Barbera d’Alba 2013 (best buy):
Floreal aromas and fresh berry flavors give this stainless steel-aged Barbera a lively character.
With its tangy acidity and light dusting of dried herb notes, it’s a good match to a bowl of cacio e pepe.

“Andrea, the only producer of Baldissero d’Alba, in the “heart of the heart” of Roero, already has clear ideas on the road to take, despite his young age: traditional vinification, research of the typicality of the vine and wine, promotion of the territory . Andrea is an active part of the new Consortium of Roero wines and makes us look with optimism at the advancing “new era”. Pierangelo supports him.
In the small but clean cellar, Andrea looks for the typicality and finds it in the successful Langhe Favorita 2013, fresh, fruity, one of the best interpretations on the market. Same style – only steel and 3-4 months “sur lie” – with herbaceous notes in evidence for the pleasant Roero Arneis 2013. Very fine, long, with fruity tones and smooth tannins Roero 2011, refined in medium-sized botticelle.
The Langhe Nebbiolo 2013 is interesting, fresh and immediate, with an enthralling drink.

First year for the Rosato Gramplin 2013, a different interpretation of nebbiolo, where the tannin is there but doesn’t compromise the drinkability; it’s a fresh and pleasant wine.”