Ep. 45 Monty Waldin interviews Stefano Chiarlo (Michele Chiarlo Winery) | Discover Italian Regions: Piedmont / Piemonte

Italian wine podcast. Chinching with Italian wine people. This is the Italian wine podcast with me Monte Walden. Today, I'm in Barolo in Piamonte in Northwest Italy. I'm talking to Stefano Kialo, whose father Mikelley founded the winery in nineteen fifty six. Welcome. Welcome. I started by asking Stephanie about his family's winemaking history. My family history is is very simple in the sense that, for for generation, the family was growers and the producer of Marbella Moscato in the Mufferato area. But, my father, when he finished the winemaker school in Alba, when was that? Mikebe is, in fifty six, either side to, to produce quality wines, and, to be one of the Italian pioneer, the to try to export, barbera, especially, barbera at this time and was a great, revenge because barbera at this time was considered a rustic wine to drink every day, but was very popular, very hungry for PMonti's food. His dream was to improve the quality. He introduced the my erotic fermentation. And in fifty eight also, he produced, he began to produce parole. So it was a dream of, agriculture family. We have not the the noble roots, a guy in Tuscany. So until in nineteen fifty six, he was initially he was what growing rates and sending them on to other people, and then he decided to make his own wine and bought himself? Yeah. Yeah. And, he was a young winemaker, but I, we come to travel, especially in burgundy. The first, travel was, incredible, for the mentality that at this time, the they were in Pemonte because, wine in Pemonte was a local wine to drink locally. Because you mentioned the food. Why would why are Pemonte as you wine so good with food? The low and what is the local food? Yeah. The local food WZ is very rich, vero pasta, like, a new roti, ravioli, and the bovita mist. Quite fatty food. Yeah. Fat food. But at this time, my father during this trailer in bulk on the ego of the arrogant wine, the the idea that the wine could, improve, the territory and of the the the perception of the people was not easy because, I arrived to produce wine that, have a price that was the doubled. More three times was considered a crazy because at, in this time, we'll have only one price. But, my father really want to to have the have this kind of French influence to improve the the the quality step by step, it have the opportunity to buy the best soy because my my grandfather, and their generation teach that if you want to produce a great wine and pure market, you have to be on of the best soy. The best vineyard soy. Best vineyard. And, when, my family have opportunity to buy the the single vineyard during the eighty of Barrogo and the single vineyard during the night of the the great Barbara step by step. We we we buy the best and the the best vineyard. So you have you have two single vineyards. You have le or me, which means the the elm tree. No. Naomi is our classic barbera. It's not a single vineer, but arrived from the most located soy for barbera. Are in the south of a state region, close to the needs of a variety where there is this kind of, Astianos and the soil that was the bottom of the Adriatic sea that is very poor in the organic, but very rich of micro men, that give to the barbera this, the weakness, this arrogant sensation, this soft. And, And what about that court? That's an that that is a single vineyard, isn't it? Yeah. The court was a really a dreamer that, for several reason, we we want to buy before when we realize. Because, the single vineyard in the barbera feed are very small and it was not easy to buy this farm. It was a historic farm. Because there are the Cyprus. Cyprus trees. Cyprus trees that, was the the symbol of the Tusconf family that was owner in the past. And when we have this opportunity during the ninety five, We buy this, twenty hectares of, southwest, to Southeast's position, incredible terroir. And, we decide to produce a super barbera that is court. So that court is named after the court of what was the castle that was built that was burned down five hundred years ago. So you're you you got the vineyard, your family got it in nineteen ninety five. Nineteen ninety six was your first vintage. How did that go? Yeah. This was a a nightmare for me because it was my first, harvest that I am very exciting, to try to produce important, Barbara. When we arrive at the end of August, I get out from the winery. I see a strange crowd. I run, and when I arrive in the top of the hill, I see that I arrive this crowd, and I ride the hell. And so it was a really nightmare because I remember that I crying for, half an hour. It was totally destroyed because, my, my, by head, because it was destroyed, my dream, and first winters, you can imagine. How old were you then? Ninety six. How old were you? Ninety six. I was twenty seven. My first winters was ninety one. And so I I was a younger winemaker, but especially I am a great person in the vineyard. So, especially in Pimonte from ninety one to ninety six, we have a bad vintage. So it was the first good vintage that, I destroyed it with with the hell it was, a totally. But what did that teach you long term? That that that kind of experience about never taking nature for granted? This is a a teaching that, when you until you don't make the harvest, you are not sure what you have in your hand. And, especially it's very, very important the last twenty days of, before the harvest because, in this day, you make the difference between one good winter to outstanding or good to bad. If arrive a one week of rain, the good vintage, you'll have to bad vintage. But if you have the rocket that, the last twenty days are, dry and with, nice weather. You have in your hand a great winter. So all the work in the vineyard is more than six months, but, when do you have the grapes in the winery, you can skip before not. So, you have, some single vineyard Baresco's, and your most famous one is the Fazette. Yeah? Yeah. To tell me why is that so special? Fazette is a special in Singapore because, it's in the heart of the barbaresco territory. And there's a long story because, Fazato was, known the last two hundred years, but especially is a special vineyard. It was granted more than fifty years ago. It's a southwest disposition. It's a very small, gaster that gives, the composition of the soil and the microcrine give this kind of, character, but very, very elegant with some spice some hint of, bull on this tie is totally unique in a single vineyard. So it's on the top of a hill in Southwest facing. It must be what are the what are the grapes like when you put them in the big and juicy or Yes. But the the the what is very particular that is the the size of the barrier is very, very small. And so the size of the skins are very thick. So, you know, that in the skins, there are the polyphenol, there are the forever. And so when arriving in the winery, you can see the fresh juice that is smelling with character when don't begin the fermentation. So But how do you make these wines that are so elegant? And they don't taste heavy even though they come from these very, very concentrated berries You know, you need the sensibility to crush the grapes, with a great softness and, to have the, the right time of maturation with the skins that, when the skins are for exhaust is, you don't have to over fermentation or whatever. So you're not looking to make a really heavy over extracted wine you want something that's more food friendly and more elegant? Yeah. Tell me a little bit about Birelli. You have wines in probably Birello's most famous vineyard site, which is the Canoubi what makes Canoebe special? Canoebe is, the first Italian single vineyard because first bottle of canoebe was, still a conservative former private provider was seventeen fifty two. Seventeen fifty two. Yeah. It's the dream of every baroque produce have a piece of land in this, single vineyard because, it's where the store is with the store with baroque. But also because it's a special vineyard is still, create rates of, more, but also rates of a lot of sand and give this kind of baroque very, very fragrant in the flavor with the the the this kind of flower our, this kind of, smokeberry and the weak reason during the evolution. But, patiently, the texture of the tiny are very, very silky, and that is, is a monumental baroe, you know, that, hold the baroe when you are in the life, we have to to think, until one time, I bought off Canopy because But do you I mean, obviously, it's a valuable vineyard. Did you just pick every single bunch, or do you do a bit of a selection in late summer, what happens when you go into the vineyard? Do you think we've got too many bunches or not enough bunches what happens. Yeah. The secret is to reduce the quantity during the the summertime. So how do you do how do you decide which barriers to cut early and not in the make right? Yeah. This is a a lot of experience because when the the vintage is two generals, we decide to make two green artists, one in in the beginning of summertime, but, the most important in the end of, August time, when you have the so clean, so simple to see the boundaries that, have a uniformity maturation. You decide to cut the bounces that have a little gray are more pink or green. The bounces that remain have the same uniformity. I see a great wine born from the vineyard like in the concept. All the people sing and song together. All the the bounces the ripeness in the same time. In this philosophy, the wine born soft from the vineyard, and you don't need a new voodoo to modern reunification to preserve the terroir and to don't have surprise during the revolution. So, basically, it's like making, like your grandmother making jam, only the best berries go into the pot and any green berries then go in. And if you put only the clean stuff in, you're gonna make a great jam. Yeah. Yeah. So what's a classic dish there with your, Kanuby Barolo? For example, I love Kanuby Barolo with the bracelet wheel, but also with the anurati with the So what is anur lot? Is it? Maybe it's a rough is ASTA with a three different field inside the rabbit, rabbit veal lands and, and braised view. Is it a braised view? Yeah. So it's like a little like a lot like a sort of a huge rabbit early, is it? Yeah. But, you know, every house, every restaurant have different, style of producer. So ravioli and yorati, you know, by by my hand, you know, canopy is, totally wine for food, but also the olive oil, wine for food. But, really, What is the beautiful thing is that, some prefer one single vineyard. Other people and government prefer other single vineyard. They are so different that, but the difference are, the richness of the baroque territory. Okay. Is there anything else we haven't talked about that you want to talk about? For example, the other single vineo, it's a requo. It's another magical place where, the so is totally different to Kanube. That is a only three hundred meter far, but, we have a lot of magnesium and so this kind of, fresh note of mental creep to, sir, Rosemary, have the character of the are of Chareco and, You're almost like it's a little bit balsamic, isn't it? Yeah. Balsamic. It is a very distinctive vineyard as in terms of flavor. And what about the tortoniano? Tatoniano is a our classic but but have some of unusual and special because more than fifty percent of the grapes arrive from the Cherokee is inconvenient. Second reason is that we produce only informed the good to outstanding that you saw in the normal bad winter, we decide to sell the juice and to don't produce this wine, you know. What tip would you I mean, obviously, barolo and barbaresco is kind of a mecca for wine lovers, sommeliers, you know, people who are crazy about wine. When people come here, what do you think they often miss? Do you think when they go home on the plane, they think, hang on, you didn't ask this question or you didn't go and see this or you didn't go and taste this? What would you suggest? What would be your must do thing when you come to this region apart from eating? I believe to to work in the vineyard. If you work in the vineyard during the summer and during the fall and you you see the vines, you see the grapes and you test the grapes because to harvest time, you understand really the potential of the character of the single vineyard with a great simplicity. Only looking the the the vineyard, you understand how is so important to be a vigneron, a man of the vigner, a good wine maker in Piedmont have the go to preserve what the grapes, give because it's the confirmation of the hill, the type of the soil gives so many different that this is not stupid, but it's not so important give the winemaker style to the wine. The style right from the natural. What is really you need the accessibility to preserve this kind of, personality from the vineyard? Seven O'ko, that's fantastic advice. Anybody come into PM Monte? Forget about trawling around wine reason looking at barrels and tanks get yourselves out of the vineyard. It's a fantastic place to walk around. Just don't get hit by hell. Thanks very much for coming in. It's been a real pleasure to talk to you. Thank you very much. Thanks. Thanks to you. Bye. Follow Italian wine podcast on Facebook and Instagram.