Francesco Rinaldi & Figli
Situated near the village of Barolo, in the heart of the Langhe which are among the most beautiful hills in the world, the "Francesco Rinaldi e Figli" company continues a 130-year-old tradition.
The Company was founded in 1870, when the grandfather, Giovanni, left Diano d'Alba and walked to Barolo, where he had just inherited a vineyard and a house. Some years later he was supported by the help of his sons and today the business is run by his descendants, who love this evocative little world just like he did.
Francesco Rinaldi is the real deal. I met Luciano Rinaldi, then 77, in 2001 at his winery and spent an amazing afternoon with him. I returned to the US and later that year met with Henry Bishop, the late great sommelier at Spiaggia in Chicago. I told him I now had access to Francesco Rinaldi. He stared at me: “Francesco Rinaldi?” I assured him it was indeed Francesco Rinaldi. He then told me one of the 5 greatest wines he’d ever tasted was a 1945 Rinaldi Barolo, purchased from a private cellar in Chicago, and drunk in year 2000 - a wine that was 55 years old.
Rinaldi is a very old family that has over the years acquired vineyard sites in many of the best parts of Barolo, and sits atop the Cannubi hillside, possibly the most acclaimed of all the Barolo crus. Their traditional idea of Barolo production features long macerations in cement tanks, with long elevage in gigantic botti of slavonian oak. They do two “cru” bottlings, Cannubi, and Brunate. All the other grapes - even from grand cru sites - go into the “regular” Barolo. Which makes it hardly a regular Barolo.
Luciano retired in 2002, taking advantage of one of the worst vintages in history to bow out (he lives still in Alba, a lifelong bachelor). Management passed to his nieces Paola and Pierina, who hired Fabio Gemme as enologist/technical director. Some of the biggest, oldest barrels have been slowly retired, dismantled, and hauled away, and perhaps vineyard and cellar work have been updated somewhat. The result is a new wave of super clean and stunningly impressive wines since the 2003 vintage, wines that continue to stand as beacons to the traditional ideals of Barolo - wines of purity, finesse, and complexity, built to last a very long time in your cellar.
Quick Facts
Winery: Francesco Rinaldi & Figli
Region: Piemonte (Piedmont)
Locale: Barolo, Italy
