Barbacàn

Valtallina, Lombardy, Italy

The Valtellina. Leonardo da Vinci described it as a “valley surrounded by tall and fearsome mountains” producing wines that are “heady & strong.” One could also add that the viticulture here is as epic (and as important) as the literary masterpiece La Divina Comedia. Yet for all of this praise and historical significance, the Valtellina remains relatively obscure compared to the local grape variety’s more famous siblings in Barolo and Barbaresco. Perhaps this is due to the remote locale in the extreme north of Lombardy, a mere stone’s throw from Switzerland. Perhaps the feral beauty of this hamlet is not as popular as the glorious Como or metropolitan Milano in the same province. Chiavennasca—the local name for and ancient precursor to Nebbiolo—has been grown here since medieval times. Wine cultivation in the Valtellina however, stretches back over 2 millennium. 

Personally, I fell in love with this wine region very early in my career. When I travelled there in 2004, my love of wine was indelibly cemented. More importantly, it was here I discovered my vocation: to introduce as many of these far away and obscure regions to Canadian wine lovers as a I could. Fast forward 18 years later and I am beyond proud and truly excited to finally introduce the wines of Barbacàn to Alberta. In a full circle moment, I have been able to connect my epiphany wine region with a domaine that truly practices authenticity, transparency, and honesty in their heroic wine farming.

Brothers Luca & Matteo Sega, working under the watchful eye of their father Angelo, describe what they do as “historical practices,” preserving a cultural identity that predates all of them. Farming in the rugged Alps, these vignerons are as brave as they are impossibly hardworking, all in the service of these ideals. And they do it with the largest and most persistent smiles I have ever seen on any wine grower! Their joy in what they do is both infectious and inspiring. 

Situated in the far eastern Cru of Valgella (one of five Valtellina sub-regions), these are mountain soils—sandy and loamy granites rich in silica and wonderful at banking precious daytime heat. Already, the Nebbiolo of Valtellina wines are famous for being far leaner and more fine grained and delicate than their more famous Piemonte counterparts, but those of Valgella are known as the most elegant and delicate expressions in all of the Valtellina. The classic personality of Nebbiolo is in every bottle with a gentle nuance that is profound. If you want to know more about the characteristics of this area you can take a look at www.vinerra.com  

The very virtue of Barbacàn’s location at altitudes of 300-800 meters above sea level means mechanical harvesting, irrigation, tilling, or any modern convenience is impractical or indeed impossible. Wine growing here is truly “a mano.” If you witness the process of hauling grapes down these steep slopes and brittle terraces (called muretti, some of which are over 1000 years old) using literal backpack baskets and you will know this to be true. And maintaining these 100-year–old vines clinging to a mountain side? The effort only persists because of the undying love these farmers have for these vineyards and the incredible fruit they produce. Just recently in 2018 the passion of these farmers and timelessness of their terraced vines earned the Valtellina UNESCO World Heritage Site status, serving as a testament to this remarkable place and tradition.

In the cellar, the Sega family aids the wines along rather than imposing upon them, opting for minimalism in winemaking. The wines are fermented with natural indigenous yeasts and there are no additions, no filtering nor fining, just a gentle hand to bring forth wines of intense fragrance and purity that are the result of the fascinating tension in these climes. Barbacàn adheres to the aging traditions of Valtellina in their cellars. They also continue to include the traditional ancient Valtellina varietals that make up to 10% of the blends (Rossola, Pignola, Brugnola), long forgotten outside the region. This is a singular expression of a grape variety known and adored across the world, yet never like this, and only possible here. A true terroir touchpoint, not frozen in time, but simply rooted in place. If this is your first experience with Valtellina, let alone Barbacàn, we are so very happy to make your acquaintance.