Andrea Picchioni's pursuit of history, honesty and authenticity..
To loosely quote a wise man, that man being Andrea Picchioni's esteemed importer Mr Ted Vance, the most compelling wines are the most honest. They aren’t the great pretenders, stripped of their history or sense of place to appease a global palate, nor crafted in pursuit of ideology above all. No matter the current moda, the most authentic and interesting wines sing dialect and teach historical context, inviting our vinous curiosity into their mystery—their bedrock and soil, their genetic heritage, the seasons and vintages, the surrounding woods, the life inside the vineyards and the dirt, and the echo of their nature-conscious ancestors. Their wines guide us into the fantasyland of their madness, and their genius. They are the originals: they are Italy’s Emidio Pepes, Paolo Beas, Lorenzo Accomassos and Lino Magas. And perhaps one day soon, Andrea Picchionis.
Having founded his estate in the Oltrepo Pavese from scratch toward the close of the 1980's, Andrea Picchioni has spent the past 4 decades pursuing that authenticity. What Andrea set out to achieve was an attempt to recapture of the voice of the old Buttafuoco wine legend. The abandoned vineyards he began to replant here in his homeland are so long and vertigo inducing when viewed from above that with one look at them it’s easy to understand why they may have been some of the first in this region to be left behind and the last resurrected. But Picchioni has just the right amount of crazy required to tame these hills.
Andrea's wines brim with a plump, youthful exuberance that is common for the blend of local varietals in Croatina, Barbera and Ughetta, yet below the surface lurks an ode to the rustic x-factor that harks to the great wines of his dear friend and mentor, Comm. Lino Maga of the mystical Barbacarlo estate. Picchioni’s wines are like Maga 2.0, but still uniquely Picchioni. In their youth they carry a sort of carefree flamboyance of raw and vigorously youthful aromas and tastes. They are more precise in craft than the unapologetically rustic wines of his friendly mentor but also require a little patience once opened. Below the dense energy current of their youth, they foreshadow with clarity the extension of a Maga-like legacy, an ode to the past with its background of earthy and medicinal smells, metals, quirks and x-factor, all the dialect of Buttafuoco (Spit Fire, in Italian).
Having founded his estate in the Oltrepo Pavese from scratch toward the close of the 1980's, Andrea Picchioni has spent the past 4 decades pursuing that authenticity. What Andrea set out to achieve was an attempt to recapture of the voice of the old Buttafuoco wine legend. The abandoned vineyards he began to replant here in his homeland are so long and vertigo inducing when viewed from above that with one look at them it’s easy to understand why they may have been some of the first in this region to be left behind and the last resurrected. But Picchioni has just the right amount of crazy required to tame these hills.
Andrea's wines brim with a plump, youthful exuberance that is common for the blend of local varietals in Croatina, Barbera and Ughetta, yet below the surface lurks an ode to the rustic x-factor that harks to the great wines of his dear friend and mentor, Comm. Lino Maga of the mystical Barbacarlo estate. Picchioni’s wines are like Maga 2.0, but still uniquely Picchioni. In their youth they carry a sort of carefree flamboyance of raw and vigorously youthful aromas and tastes. They are more precise in craft than the unapologetically rustic wines of his friendly mentor but also require a little patience once opened. Below the dense energy current of their youth, they foreshadow with clarity the extension of a Maga-like legacy, an ode to the past with its background of earthy and medicinal smells, metals, quirks and x-factor, all the dialect of Buttafuoco (Spit Fire, in Italian).