A & G Fantino

Alessandro and Gian Natale Fantino are brothers farming eight hectares in the Dardi corner of Bussia, one of the historic Barolo crus of Monforte d'Alba. Alessandro spent two decades as winemaker at Bartolo Mascarello before the pair began bottling under their own name in the 1990s, and they still work the old way, fermenting in open wooden vats and ageing the wine for years in large old botti.

The wine we stock, Laboro Disubbidiente, carries a good story. In 2005 a bureaucratic mix-up cost their Barolo Riserva its DOCG certification, so rather than lose the wine they released it under a defiant name, and the bottling has continued in later vintages. It is Barolo in all but name.