About the Producer
Tenute Cisa Asinari dei Marchesi di Grésy has been owned by the di Grésy family since 1797. The estate includes four properties located in Langhe and Monferrato, home to Piedmont’s greatest wines. Before the 1960s the estate operated like a traditional farm, producing livestock, vegetables and fruits - including grapes. At the time, the grapes were sold to the finest wine producers in the area, as was the tradition in the Langhe. In the early 1970s Alberto di Grésy realized the potential of his vineyards and decided that he had to vinify his own grapes. In 1973 he produced his first vintage with the objective of transferring the class and character of the terroir, vineyards and varietal into the bottle, using the best available technology and respect for tradition. In 2013 Alberto’s son and daughter, Alessandro and Ludovica di Grésy began their adventure in the family’s winery working alongside their father. To this day, Marchesi di Grésy only vinifies grapes coming from their properties, 111 acres of vineyards divided among the Martinenga, Monte Aribaldo, La Serra and Monte Colombo estates. Of exceptional note, the Martinenga vineyard is one of the Langhe’s finest and the largest single owned "monopole" in the region and has been owned by the di Grésy family since 1797. Martinenga is known for producing some of the finest cru-designated Barbareschi. It is planted with the Nebbiolo sub-varieties Lampia, Rosé and Michet, whose mix produce the most elegant Nebbiolo wines. With its southern exposure, blue marl soil and elevations from 820 to 918 feet, the Martinenga cru possesses ideal growing conditions and allows Nebbiolo fruit to reach full maturity even in difficult vintages. After several harvests, Alberto di Grésy found different expressions of Nebbiolo within the slopes of Martinenga. Slight changes in exposure and microclimate translated to noticeable differences in the bottle. Given that Nebbiolo is such a sensitive grape, he decided to select these different personalities with separate vinification, aging and bottling, giving birth to Camp Gros Martinenga in 1978 and Gaiun Martinenga in 1982. These "crus within the cru" share the elegance and finesse typical of Martinenga while rising even higher in terms of structure, depth and complexity. Also planted in this estate are Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay grapes. The vinification and aging of all four estates occur at Martinenga and in 2000 the family decided to expand the cellar to facilitate this. In order to minimize the environmental impact on the surrounding hills, the cellar was built entirely underground. This way the family were able to reduce soil consumption, while taking advantage of the natural insulation of the ground, creating ideal conditions for wine aging with no external energy source. Part of the cellar roof and the parking area at Marchesi di Gresy were also covered with solar panels whose annual capacity is enough to cover the entire energy needs of the winery. This exceptional site is also home to the only experimental vineyard for the clonal selection of Nebbiolo in the Barbaresco area. Eleven different clones on an area of 2,600 square meters are constantly monitored by the team, in cooperation with agronomists and oenologists of the National Research Council (CNR) who study the grapes to better understand how different clones respond to the environment and to climate change. The Monte Aribaldo estate, the first to be property of the family dating back to 1650, rises between Treiso and Barbaresco and overlooks the valley of Martinenga. Dolcetto d'Alba, Chardonnay and Sauvignon are grown here, at an average elevation of 1,200 feet. The La Serra and Monte Colombo vineyards in Monferrato are planted with Moscato d'Asti, Barbera d'Asti and Merlot (Monferrato Rosso). The clay-based soils here and the microclimate are optimal for the finest red wines. In October 2019 the family opened dai Grésy in Langa, a luxury agriturismo and spa located at the Monte Aribaldo estate.
