Sergio Molino
Sergio Molino is a very well-known name in the Piedmontese wine world and far beyond. As a brilliant yet timid winemaker, however, he prefers to stay in the background and is not easily recognized by his appearance. Sergio is an oenologist for a large number of wineries in Piedmont, other parts of Italy, and even in France. His expertise and passion for winemaking led him to decide to start bottling the 2.5 hectares of vineyard in the Bricco Rocca cru in La Morra, which has been in the family since time immemorial, himself once again. Under the name E.Molino (the E stands for Ernesto, thus a tribute to his father of that name), Sergio bottles about 6,000 bottles a year, divided into a Barbera Superiore, a Nebbiolo, and a Barolo, and in good years, a Barolo Riserva.
Sergio has an almost obsessive way of making wine, wanting to understand and, if possible, control every aspect in the vineyard and the wine cellar. It is not for nothing that next to his vineyard in Annunziata, situated exactly between Barolo, Castiglione Falletto, and La Morra on the Bricco Rocca Cru, there is a laboratory where he studies bacteria and enzymes and nurtures new grapevine clones.
His ultimate goal is to convey all the intrinsic characteristics of the grape into the glass and lose as little quality as possible during the vinification and aging phases. That sounds like a total cliché, but it entails a range of consequences: the management of ripeness, methods, timing, and duration of grape transport, sorting, and pressing of the grapes. In winemaking itself, it means overcoming a thousand critical moments: minimizing or exposing to oxidation, type of aging material, duration of aging, method of fining and potential filtering, and separate vinifications within the same vineyard depending on location.
Sergio is an engaging, and at other times impossible, man who takes you into the vineyard and can talk for hours about wine and winemaking itself, while on the other hand, he can sometimes be unreachable for days, even when you really need him for an upcoming wine shipment. It must be the spirit of the genius, the quirks of the master. Fortunately, they are still out there, the winemakers who made Barolo great and who provide us with all the pleasure and enjoyment that prevails when we drink a good glass. Sergio is one of them!
