Bruna Grimaldi

An exciting family estate, headed up by the irrepressible Bruna, & her husband Franco (Fiorino of Ricca), whose 14ha of vineyards cover four villages (communes) of Grinzane Cavour, Roddi, La Morra & Serralunga d’Alba.

Bruna’s father Giovanni (nato ’33) had sold wine in bulk, in demi-john or occasionally in bottle when the year was propitious. Export markets didn’t exist & they mostly produced Dolcetto, the local favourite! From 1989, with the arrival of Bruna & Franco in the cantina they started bottling every year. They started bottling commercially under the ‘Bruna Grimaldi’ label in 1999. It was Bruna who began exporting their wines. In 2015 their son Simone graduated from the Alba wine school, Umberto 1, having started working in the cantina from 2013. Their daughter Martina worked as a Wine Buyer in London, but since December 2018 has returned to Grinzane to help the family entreprise!

In those early days they flirted with tonneaux, plus a couple of botti grandi (from 2000), but a new bottaio in 2014 has given them more space to invest in five more botti grandi of 16HL, 21HL & 30HL, along with more 500/700litre tonneaux; indeed two 50HL troncoconico wooden vats are in-bound!  They vinify their wines in a mix of stainless-steel & cement vats. Malolactic generally takes place in cement, soon after the alcoholic ferment, to ensure the wine is clean going into wood. In 2008 they first started employing the ‘cappello sommerso’/submerged cap method of extending the maceration, staked down in the s/s vats  (to achieve a rounder tannin profile).

Grinzane Cavour is where the winery is located, & birthplace of Bruna’s father Giovanni, hence their plots in the crus of Borzone (1ha planted in 2012 & 2007 at 220m asl) & Raviole (0.84ha at 280m asl planted in 2000).

Serralunga d’Alba is home to Bruna’s mother Clara (Scarzello) – a.k.a ‘La Badarina’! It’s her family that own a prize, 2ha piece, ave. 20 yo vines of the Badarina vineyard, 400m asl high up, lying just across the road from Boscareto & Francia. Their best-exposed plot & monopole, Vigna Regnola becomes the Badarina Riserva.

In the commune of Roddi, they have two fine plots in the heart of the Bricco Ambrogio vineyard (0.7ha & 0.2ha aged between 10-25yo), that Bruna & her husband bought together in 2006; first vintage 2007. 2007 is also the year when the family stopped using herbicides in their vineyards.

They also have 2.5ha of south-facing vines at 240m asl in La Morra’s Roere di Santa Maria vineyard (10 yo & 40 yo vines, the Roere planted in 1972); yet a glance & whiff tells you this vineyard belongs in Verduno – indeed it lies on the confine/border, not far from the Roero! 

Finally they have vineyards in the comune of Diano d’Alba & (salty) Sinio (Vigna del Gallo), that make up approx. 60% of their Nebbiolo d’Alba; the remainder being from Roddi.

Their Barolo Classico is a very generously layered blend of fruit from five vineyards across four villages (Bricco Ambrogio, Roddi; Borzone & Raviole in Grinzane Cavour; Roere di Santa Maria in La Morra; & Badarina of Serralunga d’Alba).

Since vintage 2014 they have been farming organically.