First Vintage: 

1961 was the first Bruno Giacosa vintage 

That means 62 vintages ever  (56 under Bruno, 6 under Bruna)

Dante Scaglione: 

Started working for Bruno in 1992 

Then started to work as winemaker as Brunos health declined 

Dante resigned on March 7, 2008. He was replaced by Giorgio Lavagna, son-in-law to the manager of Giacosa's Falletto estate, who had worked as a winemaker at Batisiolo.  

In early 2011, Dante Scaglione came back to Giacosa as winemaker. The winery said there were some misunderstandings, but now all is well. 

Riserva: 

Before 1980, the red label was officially called "Riserva Speciale". 

Original 1961 label was tan, not red.

Red label only started in 1964 with Santo Stefano.

Le Rocche Name: 

Was ‘Le Rocche (Castiglione Falletto)’. Then was ‘Le Rocche del Falletto’ 

Now is ‘Falletto Vigna Le Rocche’ 

Casa Vinicola 

Azienda Vinicola: A winery which produces wine from purchased grapes. 

Azienda = Agency/Business 

Other grapes he used to make: 

Cortese (Only made 2 ever, 1976 and 1977) 

Freisa (stopped in 1982) 

Grignolino (stopped in 2004) 

Spumante Rose (2007, 2008, 2011, 2013) 

Rionda Barolo: 

One of the best rated of BGs Barolos 

First year was 1967, and last year was 1993 

Villero Barolo: 

Giacosa made a single-vineyard Barolo from 1978 and ending in 1996. 

Winemaking:

Although Bruno kept his winemaking techniques secretive in his early years, he later revealed that his methods weren’t different from other producers. 

Some of the key elements of his process were: 

Extended maceration on skins for 30-50 days. This long maceration helps increase flavor, color, and tannin structure in the wine. 

2-3 week fermentation in stainless steel 

3-4 years aging in French oak 50 hL casks (Botti)  

Ageing: 

Giacosa preferred French oak over the more traditional Slavonian oak for his casks, and unlike many of his peers, Giacosa never favored extended aging in oak, but instead believed that aging in bottle before release was critical. 

Quality: 

Together, Giacosa and Scaglione made a number of breathtaking wines, especially in 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2007, the modern-day counterparts to the great vintages of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.  

Sadly, Bruno Giacosa suffered a debilitating stroke in 2006. It is no secret that quality has taken a serious downturn since the 2008 vintage. 

Scaglione, the one and only true heir to Bruno Giacosa’s legacy, has since returned to the winery as a consultant 

Santo Stefano (Barbaresco): 

According to Bruna Giacosa, We decided to stop the production of the Santo Stefano since we did not have the complete control of the vineyard. 

Vineyard is Albesani  

Historically in the 60s, fruit was from Castello di Nieves vineyards 

Fun Fact: 

The connection between Piedmont and France might seem surprising, but Piedmont was in fact part of France from 1798 to 1814,