There’s always a story to be told at Vinitaly, a unique occasion to taste precious wines and talk with amazing producers such as Castello di Cigognola, the Moratti family’s winemaking project in Oltrepò Pavese that with its wonderful Pinot Noir wines enhances the uniqueness of its territory of origin and its way of understanding wine.
Located on the 45° parallel – the parallel of some of the world’s greatest wines – Oltrepò Pavese gets its name from its position on the southern shore of river Po, beyond the Po, oltre Po in Italian language. Pavese refers instead to the beautiful town of Pavia – dotted with piazzas of great breadth, the Castle of the Visconti family, the magnifically-carved Chartreuse – under whose province the appellation lies.
The first to witness Oltrepò Pavese was Strabone, a Greek geographer living under the Roman Empire, who in the 40 b.C noted on his diary that in the region “wine is good and people age wine in very big barrels”. Traditional sparkling in the region has been produced since the second half of the 18th century and the first traditional sparkling from Pinot Noir dates back to 1865. A past that implies experience and tradition in the field of Italian sparkling wines and creates a link with the world of Italian excellence and the “savoir faire” typical of Made in Italy. What’s more, Oltrepò Pavese is one of Italy’s top wine districts, covering roughly 75% of the entire national production of the Pinot Nero grape variety thanks to the mild climate and the calcareous clay of the terroir that is ideal for the pinot noir grape.
The estate
With the family Moratti, and especially Gabriele, the son of Gianmarco and Letizia, Castello di Cigognola has entered a new age.
The estate stretches over 36 hectares, 28 of which are under vine, located at an altitude of 300 and 350 metres asl. The several clones and varieties benefit from different aspects but all vineyards are located on the hills surrounding the old XII century castle which gives the name to the estate, Castello di Cigognola. The Castle, marvelously decorated by master architect Renzo Mongiardino, is part of FAI world heritage. It is surrounded by an exquisite garden landscaped by Paolo Peirone, and overlooks the lush and gentle hills covered in vineyards of a region naturally vocated to Pinot Noir. The bottom part of the hill is made of marl, namely marls called Marne di Sant’Agata Fossili, whereas half way to the top the main soil component is a chalk-suplhur mixture and on the top there is sandstone and conglomerate.
Castello di Cigognola is surrounded by 3.000 hectares of Pinot Noir planted on steep slopes and hills forming narrow valleys conveying winds arriving from north and south, thus creating some unique climats. Latitude allows for a perfect maturation of this grape which means that here Pinot Noir is able to exude flavours of riper fruit, a circumstance which gives Oltrepò Pavese Pinot Noir a distinctive character. This can be detected very well in the local Blanc de Noir Pas Dosé.
Vineyards, which are about 25 years old on average and are mainly guyot (cane pruning) trained, are sustainably farmed, with the adoption of organic and homeopathic techniques in order to get healthy grapes and avoid using chemicals.
The vineyards are run by Gabriele Moratti and CEO Piermaria Sartor with passion and commitment, abiding by ethical values and a sustainable viticultural approach. Respect for the people, environment and real economy is the cornerstone of Castello di Cigognola’s vision.
Pinot Nero which in Oltrepò Pavese reaches a perfect phenolic ripeness, is the core focus of Castello di Cigognola, which intends to provide consumers with a true quality-driven interpretation of this great grape. To better allow the different expressions of Pinot Noir, the winery has opted for an important restyling of labels: Moratti will be the name reserved to the traditional sparkling wines whereas Castello di Cigognola will identify the still wines.
The Metodo Classico Oltrepò Pavese DOCG
The Metodo Classico Oltrepò Pavese, as it is officially called, is one of the DOCG (denominazione di origine controllata e garantita) wines of Italy – the highest degree of quality achievable.
“The line of Metodo Classico sparkling wines made from Pinot Noir grapes is the symbol of the Moratti maison“ says Alberto Zucchi Frua, sales manager of Castello di Cigognola.
Truly distinguishing the Metodo Classico Pinot Noir of Castello di Cigognola is the type of production approach adopted: it is a humanistic vision, which regulates the relationship between human beings and nature, interpreted according to science, creativity and respect for nature and that boasts the collaboration of renowned chef de cave in Ambonnay Nicolas Secondé since 2020. The result is a commitment to refining a personal production method based on precision viticulture, organic regimes, and a modus operandi that combines technique and creativity in almost all procedures carried out in the vineyard and in the winery. All of them including destemming, are performed by hand, with attention to the smallest detail and extreme care.
“The groundbreaking Metodo Classico project operating at Castello di Cigognola involves long pressings without pressure breaks. The Mosto Fiore – explains Zucchi Frua- is separated into different parts so as to capture its most important characteristics for maximum variability and expressiveness in the subsequent blending of the cuvées. Schiccolatura, which preserves the integrity of the grapes, is also carried out without the aid of machinery.
The potential of the region, the know how of its inhabitants, the story of this place represented by Castello di Cigognola all convey a clear vision aimed at producing a wine which can also be a symbol of the terroir and the respect people have for it.
Our wine has to be “met”, shared and put in context” believes CEO Piermaria Sartor. “The experience, the encounter with the wine, has to be spontaneous and genuine, so that the consumer can be caught by the sensations exuding from the wine and its greater meanings – the colour shade, aromas, flavours have a much deeper sense: they all talk of the land, its story and its soul, the wine potential and the many nuances that allow for the wine to be considered a little piece of art”.
Each of these Metodo Classico wines (from the Pas Dosè to the Brut, from the Rosè to the Cuvèe) is beautiful to smell, taste and feel, an explosion of freshness and fruitiness with a great aromatic elegance, the perfect complement to a lingering conversation.
Hence, I do recommend you to pay a visit to Castello di Cigognola and immerse yourself in the world of Pinot Noir: let it provide moments of exquisiteness today or tomorrow, whether you dig deep into this world on your own or in company. I am sure you’ll fall in love.
