Surface area 5 ha.
Natural since 2009

About the winemaker
Fabio Gea crafts wine from grapes grown on small plots in and around Barbaresco. He inherited these vineyards from his grandfather, Pòtu (the local dialect nickname for Giuseppe). Back in his grandfather’s day, the land was managed as a polyculture: Gea’s grandfather was a true grape variety expert and something of an obsessive, cultivating countless obscure types at one point, over 200 different grapes grew on his property. The care and upkeep of these vineyards skipped an entire generation; most of the plots Gea’s grandfather tended were eventually abandoned. After earning his doctorate and spending several successful years as a geologist in the private sector, Fabio chose to leave that world behind and return to his roots, reviving the family tradition by bringing the vineyards back to life.

About the vineyard
The estate consists of a few rows of Nebbiolo within and just outside the Barbaresco appellation, along with small parcels of Dolcetto and Barbera what started as a mere 0.9 hectares now covers around 5 hectares. Every bit of vineyard work is done by hand, with interventions limited to only copper and sulphur. In the cellar, apart from his more experimental undertakings in ‘toilet’ (Fabio builds his own porcelain amphorae), he relies on old 440- and 500-liter barrels, glass, and stainless steel. Current production sits at about 15,000 bottles per year, divided among six or seven cuvées.

About the wines
Some of Fabio Gea’s wines are traditional; others are completely unconventional, even bordering on the absurd yet all are incredibly pure and vibrant. His Barbaresco bottlings are textbook examples of what Barbaresco should be (and prove how much finesse the wine can have, even in youth). Then there’s a wine like DNAss, which demonstrates just how brilliantly Gea can channel his offbeat techniques into captivating results. DNAss, by the way, goes through semi-carbonic maceration in ovoid sandstone vessels handmade by Fabio himself that bob in a swimming pool.

Louis/Dressner profile Fabio Gea
More Than Wine profile Fabio Gea