Asti · Winery · Curated profile

Isolabella della Croce

Isolabella della Croce

Isolabella della Croce is a family estate in Loazzolo, in the Langa Astigiana on the Asti side of the Langhe hills. The family's link to wine reaches back to Egidio Isolabella, who built a vermouth and liqueur business in the nineteenth century that supplied Italy's royal house before the war destroyed the plant. In 2001 Lodovico Isolabella della Croce, his wife Maria Teresa and their sons Luigi and Francesco returned to the land and founded the estate as it stands today, now making about 100,000 bottles a year from vineyards set on slopes so steep they approach an 80 percent gradient. The estate is best known for Pinot Noir, farmed across three named hillside plots above Loazzolo and bottled separately as Bricco del Falco, Giotto and Fra, alongside Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Brachetto and Barbera grown in Calamandrana for Nizza DOCG. Loazzolo itself gives its name to one of Italy's smallest DOCs, reserved for a late-harvest passito Moscato.

At a glance

Region
Asti, Piemonte, Italy
Address
14051 Loazzolo (AT)
Winemaker
Andrea Elegir
Tours
Not listed
Tastings
Available
Wines listed
16
Website
https://www.isolabelladellacroce.com/

Visits & tastings

Visits are arranged directly with the estate: a typical stop means walking the steep vineyard rows above Loazzolo before a guided tasting of the Pinot Noir wines, with the chance to buy bottles at the cellar door afterward.

Tastings

  • Guided tasting through the range, with a walk in the vineyards
  • Vertical tasting of older vintages of Bricco del Falco and Solum, tracing how the wines age

Food & stay

  • On-site tavern, open 9:00 to 17:00, to 19:00 in summer
  • Outdoor pool, open 10:00 to 19:00 from 1 April to 31 October
  • Rooms for overnight stays, booked through hospitality@isolabelladellacroce.com

Good to know

  • Check-in 14:00 to 20:00, reception staffed 8:00 to 20:00

Contact

Wines from Isolabella della Croce

  • 1500: Piemonte DOC Pinot Noir, Pinot Noir 100%, Red. '1500' is a pure Pinot Noir, a trial batch equivalent to 1,500 bottles, the same blend as Bricco del Falco, aged two years in a Vinooxygen tank patented by the estate's oenologist Andrea Elegir.
  • Augusta: Nizza DOCG, Barbera 100%, Red. Taste power and an imposing structure express the grape variety, joined by cleanliness and olfactory elegance.
  • Bricco del Falco: Piemonte DOC Pinot Noir, Pinot Noir 100%, Red. Altitude, exposure, temperature swings and lean, calcareous soils allow Pinot Noir's character to fully express itself; it is the estate's symbol wine, assembling and separately ageing its three vineyards.
  • Fra: Piemonte DOC Pinot Noir, Pinot Noir 100%, Red. Fra is a pure Pinot Noir, a specific cru made from 2016, born in Loazzolo in the Asti hills.
  • Ginevra: Alta Langa DOCG, Chardonnay 75%, Pinot Noir 25%, Sparkling. The high-hill setting brings out the wine's acidity and primary aromas, which combine with the notes from a long second fermentation in bottle for a fresh, complex bouquet.
  • Giotto: Piemonte DOC Pinot Noir, Pinot Noir 100%, Red. Giotto is a pure Pinot Noir, a specific cru made from 2016, born in Loazzolo in the Asti hills, in the 'Vela' vineyard.
  • Le Marne: Monferrato DOC Rosso, Barbera, Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, Red. Elegance and easy drinking result from blending Barbera, Nebbiolo and Dolcetto grapes from Loazzolo, in varying proportions from year to year.
  • Maria Teresa: Barbera d'Asti DOCG, Barbera 100%, Red. Fresh on the palate, with the intense fruity note typical of the grape variety.
  • Riesling: Piemonte DOC Riesling, White. The minerality of the soils and the altitude bring out the wine's aromatic finesse alongside a fresh, dry and persistent palate.
  • Sauvignon Blanc: Piemonte DOC Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc 100%, White. Freshness and mineral taste, with an intense bouquet of white flowers and exotic fruit, fully express the character of the Sauvignon Blanc grape.
  • Serena: Barbera d'Asti DOCG Superiore, Barbera 100%, Red. Elegance and an emphasis on the fruit and typicity of the grape are its defining characteristics.
  • Solìo: Loazzolo DOC, Moscato Bianco 100%, Sweet. Freshness and balance meet a striking aromatic elegance of citrus, sage and yellow flowers, the result of the slope of the land and the age of Loazzolo's old Moscato vines.
  • Solum: Piemonte DOC Chardonnay, Chardonnay 100%, White. Floral and fruity notes blend with spice and a light bread-crust character from long battonage, on a complex, fresh, mineral palate, expressing the estate's idea of Chardonnay grown at 500 metres.
  • Superlodo: Monferrato DOC Rosso, Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Red. Power and structure from Barbera grapes grown in Nizza meet the extreme elegance and fruit of Pinot Noir from Loazzolo.
  • Trentasei: Brachetto d'Acqui DOCG, Brachetto 100%, Sweet. Intense rose-hip aromas, along with lychee and raspberry, are the result of the strong temperature swings on Loazzolo's high hills.
  • Valdiserre: Canelli DOCG Moscato, Moscato Bianco 100%, Sparkling. Aromatic intensity and an elegant balance of sweetness, minerality and freshness, the result of a later, optimal ripening that keeps the acidity while developing the aromas.