Why it matters
The producer
Bruna Grimaldi is a family estate split across two communes in Langhe, Piedmont: Grinzane Cavour, where the family first farmed, and Serralunga d'Alba, where its most age-demanding Barolo parcels sit. The Grimaldi family sold grapes from 1957. Bruna formalised the estate label in 1999, twelve years after she took operational control following her winemaking studies in Alba. Her children Simone and Martina joined in 2015 and 2019 respectively, and the estate now bottles around 80,000 bottles a year across Barolo, Barbera d'Alba, Dolcetto d'Alba, and Langhe Arneis.
The estate gained organic certification in 2013. Vineyard work accounts for 70 percent of the family's annual labour, with 25 percent devoted to harvest, leaving only 5 percent for everything else.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Serralunga d'Alba is one of the five Barolo communes and the one most associated with long development. Its soils are compact Helvetian sandstone, dense and poor in nutrients, which forces Nebbiolo roots deep and produces wines with firm tannin and a slow, decade-long arc toward full expression. Barolo from Serralunga rarely opens early; it needs time in bottle before the fruit and tannin reach equilibrium.
Grinzane Cavour, where the family is based, produces a different Barolo expression from Serralunga d'Alba. Together, the two communes give the estate a range of Nebbiolo expressions within a single appellation label.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The estate farms organically across its Langhe parcels. Green harvesting largely determines wine quality. The family allocates 70 percent of its working time to the vineyard, 25 percent to harvest, and 5 percent to the rest of the year.
The Arneis is fermented at controlled temperature with no malolactic conversion, which preserves the grape's natural acidity and keeps the wine fresh rather than round. Fine lees stirring continues for approximately two months after fermentation, adding softness to the texture without adding weight. The Arneis can develop further complexity over three to five years.
Wines to know
The range in view
Barolo is the top of the range. The Badarina cuvee comes from the named Serralunga parcel and carries the character of that commune: tight red cherry, dried roses, and tobacco from Nebbiolo, with tannin that is firm and dry on entry and requires several years of bottle age before it softens. The Grinzane Cavour parcels produce a second Barolo expression with a broader profile and somewhat earlier accessibility. Both are age-worthy; neither is made for immediate drinking.
Barbera d'Alba fills the middle of the range. Barbera from Langhe is naturally high in acidity and low in tannin, producing a wine that is darker and more immediate than Barolo, often with sour cherry fruit and a clean finish.