Fratelli Alessandria`s history goes back 200 years and has been in the Alessandria family since 1870, so you can see they know their vineyards reasonably well. These stretch over twelve hectares and in the Communes of Verduno and Monforte. There is Barolo aplenty, of course, as well as Barbera, Dolcetto and the only foreign interloper - a touch of Chardonnay. They almost seem most proud of Pelaverga, a variety that`s intensely local to the Verduno area and surely counts as endangered.

They`re certainly the best producer in Verduno, but why? Why haven`t they been famous for decades? The answer is Vittore, Gian Battista`s son and a very classy winegrower with a keen eye for detail, an appetite for hard work and an ambition to achieve emotion in his wines. It is fair to say that Monvigliero is the jewel in the crown of their vineyard holdings, but they don`t seem to have any duff terroirs. On our visit, we were most impressed by the discipline in the cellars and the thoughtful approach to expressing in bottle what they have in the field. I firmly believe that winegrowing is an craft rather than an art, but the approach to the wine here incorporates a real vision. (CW 13/05/14)