Tenuta San Mauro, Asti

Italy > Piemonte > Barbaresco

 

Description:
Signora Clara Carosso is the proud owner of the Tenuta San Mauro, a relatively large estate of some 75 acres of vineyard, planted around the town of Castagnole delle Lanze in the provinces of Asti and Cuneo. Mauro Bianco, her son, is the manager, and shares his name with the estate. The bright crimson label advertises itself with a bold white “il” in the center, which is a clever marketing technique designed to call attention to the high quality of “the” wines.

Clara Carosso is a member of the National Association of Women Winemakers, “Le Donne del Vino,” and is quite specific in her goals: “Work at Tenuta San Mauro is driven by a single objective: the highest possible quality of our end products. Starting right at the vine itself, from initial growth to ripening, we lavish the utmost care upon our vineyards, which, in terms of density and variety, meet and surpass all present qualitative criteria.” This includes the recent purchase of French tonneaux barriques for some of the red wines, and new temperature controlled stainless steel tanks for fermentation.

The estate’s wines include their flagship Barbaresco, aged for a year in five hectoliter tonneaux before being transferred for six months into larger, more traditional twenty-seven hectoliter wood barrels, and six more months in bottle. Barbaresco typically is a subtle, refined Nebbiolo wine, with floral and spice scents and a full, generous flavor. The Barbera d’Asti, which comes either in a plain or a Superiore version, is a splendid example of the variety. The Superiore benefits from a full year of wood aging, in cask and in barrique, and is aged another year in tank and in bottle before release. The regular Barbera d’Asti sees no wood and is lower in alcohol (13%).

The white wines reflect some of the estate’s most recent innovations. The Chardonnay delle Langhe, now sporting its own D.O.C., is aged nine months in barrique and crafted very much like a white Burgundy. The Moscato d’Asti, which bears a D.O.C.G. rating, is extraordinarily low in alcohol (5%) and as such barely qualifies as a wine; but its delicacy and subtle sweetness makes it an ideal wine to enjoy as an aperitif or with dessert.

Tenuta San Mauro has been mentioned frequently in the Italian press, notably in the influential Veronelli review, the Guida al Vino Quotidiano, and the Guida dei Vini Italiani.  

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Website: http://www.il-tenutasanmauro.com