Serre di Tuffo, Monferrato DOC Nebbiolo Superiore is the new Bava wine.
A new wine that actually marks a powerful and evocative return to ancient origins. A Nebbiolo del Monferrato, just like the one that the Bava family has always produced in its vineyards in Tuffo, a hamlet near Cocconato, in the province of Asti, the family seat since 1616.
In the words of Piero, the “patriarch” of the Bavas, wine, land and family are intertwined:
“In the old days – reminisces Piero Bava – almost everyone in Tuffo had a little plot of land; part of it would be given over to grapevines, usually the more uphill areas. Back in the seventeen hundreds, the Bava family owned some land on the Serre hills, a location with the best view in the area, looking out over the Alps and Mount Viso, with the old Serre road running along the ridge. In the first years of the nineteen hundreds, the family moved down valley, near the railroad, and built the wine cellars that today – a century later – are still the winery’s headquarters.”
From the winery’s windows facing the sunlit hillside, one can admire the old vineyard, next to the village church, in the same location described on a rare cadastral map dated 1790 (one of the few drawn up during the reign of the Savoys) that bears the same toponym, Cadodo, which already indicated the plot as family property.
The Monferrato DOC status conferred on this Nebbiolo confirms its long history and recognizes the suitability of the Cocconato hills for producing Nebbiolo grapes, which enjoy the most favorable exposure in Cadodo and on the meadows of the Serre hills.
Serre di Tuffo Bava makes its debut with the 2020 vintage: ten months of aging in wooden barrels earns it the appellation of “Superiore”.
It joins the other wines produced by the Cocconato winery, renowned for its Barberas – from Stradivario, Bava’s signature wine, to PianAlto Nizza and Libera – and its Barolo and Nebbiolos from the Scarrone cru, in Castiglione Falletto, Langa.
Of the typical characteristics of Nebbiolo del Monferrato, Serre di Tuffo displays the brilliant ruby-red color, the spiced, floral nose and the classic, rounded tannins that ensure the wine’s longevity. This historic vineyard, whose white and rough calcareous soil covers the outcroppings of marl, lends its character to the wine, exalting its fragrance and freshness, combining elegance and structure and proudly exemplifying Cocconato’s traditional vocation for this varietal.
