Crissante Alessandria since 1958

Crissante Alessandria started making wine back in 1958. As with many other families in the area, Alessandria’s family cultivated vineyards but instead of bottling under their family name, they sold the grapes. Crissante Alessandria started with just a few hectares in Roggeri and Capalot, but over the years they aquired more land in Langhe. The few hectares has now grown into 6 hectares.

Today, the Crissante brothers Alberto and Luca run the winery in Santa Maria, continuing their family’s legacy.

Winemaking

Crissante Alessandria ages their wines in a mix of small, medium and big barrels, with mostly long fermentations, using both pump over and punch down. They respect mother nature, and may change their vinification method depending on the vintage.

Apart from the Barolo Mac Magnum La Punta, most of the Barolo’s go through the same vinification process: about 2 weeks of maceration in stainless steel tank at 28 degree with temperature control, followed by “Follatura manuale” and remontage process 4 times for day for the first 5 days. They then age for 24 months in oak.

The entry level wines go through fermentation for approximately 10 days in temperature-controlled steel tanks in contact with the skins, frequent pump-overs and punch-downs especially during the first 5 days of maceration. The wines spend some time in stainless steel tanks before bottling.

Fun fact

Crissante Alessandria also cultivates and sells hazelnuts.

Crissante Alessandria Wines

Today, the winery makes quite a few wines from their 6 hectares: Barolo Roggeri, Barolo Capalot, Barolo Galina, Barolo La Punta Capalot Mac Magnum, Dolcetto D’alba, Barbera d’Alba superiore RUGE’, Langhe Nebbiolo and Nebbiolo rosè.

Barolo Galina

BASIC INFORMATION

Product name: Barolo Galina
Grape: 100% Nebbiolo
Classification: DOCG
Number of bottles produced: 5500
Color: intense garnet red
Fragrance: hints of ripe fruits, apricot and blackberries
Taste: Full bodies, warm and well balanced with soft tannins
Food pairing:

VINIFICATION

Method: about 2 weeks of maceration in stainless tank at 28 degree temperature control; “Follatura manuale” and remontage process 4 times for day for the first 5 days until the end of pressing process.
Aging: 24 months in barrique and tonneaux

VINEYARD

Vineyard: Galina “area”, south of the La Morra Hill
Soil: Limestone with fine sand
Exposure: South
Altitude: 230-300
Year planted: 2014

Barolo Mac Magnum La Punta

BASIC INFORMATION

Product name: Barolo Mac Magnum La Punta
Grape: 100% Nebbiolo
Classification: DOCG
Number of bottles produced: 
Color: garnet red
Fragrance: ripe red fruits, licorice and vanilla
Taste: full body, elegant with soft tannins
Food pairing: meats, cheese

VINIFICATION (Wine-making)

Method: manual de-stemming, grape by grape, before pressing. Fermentation two weeks long in contact with the skins, with only manual pump-overs. The must and wine never come in contact with electric pumps and are always transferred manually as in ancient times with the utmost respect for the product.
Aging: in 300 liter barrels for at least 2 years
Minimum aging in bottle:  9 months

VINEYARD

Vineyard: Capalot
Soil: limestone with fine sand
Exposure: south/east
Year planted:  1966

Barolo Capalot

BASIC INFORMATION

Product name: Barolo Capalot
Grape: 100% Nebbiolo
Classification: DOCG
Number of bottles produced: 4000
Color: intense garnet red
Fragrance: red fruits, blackberries and plums
Taste: fruity, with hint of vanilla

VINIFICATION (Wine-making)

Method: about 2 weeks of maceration in stainless tank at 28 degree temperature control; “Follatura manuale” and remontage process 4 times for day for the first 5 days until the end of pressing process
Aging: botte grande for 24 months
Minimum aging in bottle: 

VINEYARD

Vineyard: Capalot
Soil: limestone with fine sand
Exposure: south/east
Altitude: 300-330
Year planted: 1951

Barolo Del Comune Di La Morra

BASIC INFORMATION

Product name: Barolo del Comune di La Morra
Grape: 100% Nebbiolo
Classification: DOCG
Number of bottles produced: 16 000
Color: brilliant garnet ruby
Fragrance: cherry, ripe strawberry, hint of dried apricots
Taste: full body, silky tannins
Food pairing: meat, cheese, pasta

VINIFICATION (Wine-making)

Method: about 2 weeks of maceration in stainless steel tank at 26-28 degree with temperature control. Punching down and remontage process 4 times for day from the fifth day until the end of fermentation process
Aging: botte grande for 24 months
Minimum aging in bottle: about 9 months

VINEYARD

Vineyard: 60% Roggeri, 20% San Biagio, 20% Bettolotti
Soil: Roggeri – clay with limestone, San Biagio – light clay and sand, Bettolotti – light clay and sand
Exposure:  : Roggeri – south-east, San Biagio – south, Bettolotti – east
Year planted: range from 2016 to 1957

Barolo Roggeri

BASIC INFORMATION

Product name: Barolo Roggeri
Grape: 100% Nebbiolo
Classification: DOCG
Number of bottles produced: 15 000
Color: intense garnet red
Fragrance: mature fruits like plum, apricot and blackcurrant with hint of purple flowers
Taste: good body, velvety tannins, long finish
Food pairing: meat, cheese, pasta

VINIFICATION (Wine-making)

Method: about 2 weeks of maceration in stainless steel tank at 28 degree with temperature control. “Follatura manuale” and remontage process 4 times for day for the first 5 days
Aging: botte grande for 24 months

VINEYARD

Vineyard: Roggeri
Soil: clay with limestone
Exposure:  south, south-east
Altitude: 280-300
Year planted: 1957

Langhe Nebbiolo

BASIC INFORMATION

Product name: Langhe Nebbiolo
Grape: 100% Nebbiolo
Classification: DOC
Number of bottles produced: 1200
Color: ruby red with garnet reflections
Fragrance: red fruit, raspberry, cherry, and violets
Taste: warm, pleasant tannins, aftertaste of cherries
Food pairing: cheese, pasta, meat

VINIFICATION (Wine-making)

Method: fermentation for approximately 10 days in temperature-controlled steel tanks in contact with the skins, frequent pump-overs and punch-downs especially during the first 5 days of maceration
Aging: 12 months in used barrique
Minimum aging in bottle: about 6 months

VINEYARD

Vineyard: vineyards in La Morra
Soil:  clayey and calcareous soil with underlying marl
Exposure: East
Year planted: 2009

Barbera d’Alba Superiore Rugé

BASIC INFORMATION

Product name: Barbera d’Alba Superiore Rugè
Grape: 100% Barbera
Classification: DOC
Number of bottles produced: 2000
Color: ruby red with garnet nuances
Fragrance: blackcurrant, licorice, mature cherry
Taste: rich, full bodied, red fruit, vanilla
Food pairing: pasta, lamb,

VINIFICATION (Wine-making)

Method: about 2 weeks of maceration in stainless steel tank at 28 degrees with temperature control. “Follatura manuale” and remontage process 4 times for day for the first 5 days until the end of pressing process.
Aging: tonneaux for 12 months

VINEYARD

Vineyard: from La Morra
Soil: clay and limestone
Exposure: south, east
Altitude: 250-300
Year planted: 1954

Barbera d’Alba

BASIC INFORMATION

Product name: Barbera d’Alba
Grape: 100% Barbera
Classification: DOC
Number of bottles produced: 2500
Color: lively ruby red with violet hues
Fragrance: cherry, raspberry and blackberry
Taste: intense, full-bodied, fresh acidity
Food pairing: meat, cheese, pasta

VINIFICATION (Wine-making)

Method: fermentation for 10/12 days in steel tanks in contact with the skins, frequent pump-overs and punch-downs especially during the first 7 days of maceration.
Aging: stainless steel

VINEYARD

Vineyard: Bricco San Biagio
Soil: mark, calcareous, slightly sandy
Exposure: east
Altitude: 200-250
Year planted: 1990

Dolcetto d’Alba

BASIC INFORMATION

Product name: Dolcetto d’Alba
Grape: 100% Dolcetto
Classification: DOC
Number of bottles produced: 1200
Color: intense ruby red with violet hues
Fragrance: cherries, redcurrant, violets
Taste: soft, good body, almond aftertaste
Food pairing: pizza, appetizers, main courses

VINIFICATION (Wine-making)

Method: fermentation for seven days in steel tanks in contact with the skins, frequent pump-overs and punch-downs especially during the first 4 days of maceration
Aging: stainless steel

VINEYARD

Vineyard: vineyards in La Morra
Soil: marl, calcareous
Exposure: east
Altitude: 300-350
Year planted: 1968

Rosato Affresco

BASIC INFORMATION

Product name: Rosato Affresco
Grape: 
Classification: 
Number of bottles produced: 1500
Color: pale pink
Fragrance: raspberries, cherries, floral notes
Taste: fruity with fresh acidity
Food pairing: aperitivo, appetizers, seafood

VINIFICATION (Wine-making)

Method: racking a few hours after pressing and after brief contact with the skins, where a small amount of color is extracted. Long fermentation lasting three to four weeks in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks at low temperature in contact with the skins. It remains in the stainless steel tanks for the winter months with exposure to the natural cold
Aging: stainless steel

VINEYARD

Vineyard: various
Soil: marly-calcareous from different vineyards
Exposure:  east, south-east
Year planted: various