Aὐτόχϑ∞ν” Erbaluce di Caluso DOCG is made from 100% Erbaluce grapes. First produced in 2013, this wine is a special selection of 30- to 50-year-old vines from the Macelio and Madonna vineyards. Its name is a whimsical Greek spelling of the word autochthonous, celebrating the fact that only the indigenous yeasts of the grapes themselves are used during fermentation. Fresh, slightly grassy on impact, with notes of citrus, sage, jasmine, acacia flower, green apple, white peach. It's distinctively saline and mineral with balanced fruit, pronounced length, and delicate aromatics. While this bottling drinks beautifully in its youth, it also ages elegantly for 15-20 years. With more time in bottle, the wine shows remarkable structure and complexity, developing evolved mineral and tertiary notes.
The year is 2001; after a professional lifetime in front of a computer screen at some of Italy’s most prominent “.com”-era organizations, Bruno Giacometto decided it was a good point in his life to spend a little more of his time… outside. With his aging parents beginning to weary amidst the day-to-day operations of the winery they founded in the mid-1960s, Bruno returned to his birthplace in Piemonte’s rural and remote northwest to take the reins of his family’s estate, stewarding it forward into the 21st century. Located in the village of Caluso, the heart of a region celebrated for its fresh and aromatic expressions of the Erbaluce grape (of which Giacometto produces a number of different, very delicious bottlings), Bruno’s production also extends to a few of Piemonte’s classic red varieties, with Nebbiolo dominating the bulk of the red grape side of his operation.