Francone is a winery that offers wine tastings and a tour of the wine cellar where they store their wines. The winery is outside Neive on the way to the village of Barbaresco. The vineyard is right next to the own vinefields, so you can enjoy a wine tasting and at the same time look out over the vinefields where the grapes come from.
The foundation of the Francone wine fields is the Gallina Slope, which is a historically recognized Cru in Barbaresco, thanks to its microclimate and calcareous soils.
In addition, Francone has fields in Barolo (La Morra and Monforte) as well as Roero (for their white Arneis).
Francone makes a number of different styles of their Barbaresco DOCG and they are all made with 100% of the Nebbiolo grape.
We think their Barbaresco DOCG Gallina is one of the best red wines they have. The grapes for this wine have, just as the name suggests, been sourced from their vineyard on Gallinakullen. They have matured and are at their best from 3 to 10 years after harvest, but the best vintages can age for a very long time. well over 10 years.
Francone Barbaresco DOCG Gallina costs 28 Euro (autumn 2023) and that is a lot, but is still quite affordable if you compare it to La Spinetta Barbaresco DOCG Gallina (from the same hill with vinefields) which costs 4-5 times as much.
Francone also makes Barbera d'Alba DOC Superiore. This is a really good Barbera which is also "Superiore" which means it is made from the best grapes, aged longer and usually has 0.5% higher alcohol content, simply a tastier and fuller wine.
Francone also makes a series of sparkling wines where the series is called Valsellera.
We have tried most of them and our favorite is the Valsellera Cuvee Brut. It is made from 100% Chardonnay grapes and produces an extremely fine wine. The wine is made according to the Metodo Classico (champagne method) and in their case this means that the wine is on the lees (Sur Lie) in the bottle for at least 20 months.
We think their Valsellera Pas Dose ranks as a good runner-up of their sparkling wines. It is produced only from the best vintages of 100% Chardonnay grapes. The production also takes place in a strictly limited edition. The term "Pas Dose" means that no sweetness has been added at the last moment when the final cork for the bottle is put on.
In the wine cellar, Francone works with both modern and classic methods such as the use of small barriques of 225 liters and large Botti of varying size and age. Barrels are usually 2500-3200 liters and produced from Slavonian oak.
If you want to be sure of getting a tasting on site, it is always best to make a booking for the tasting at the winery in question.
Below is a link to the website with contact details and more info about the winery.
Neive is a nice village in the Barbaresco area. Neive has a lot to offer in terms of various Enoteca and Cantina that you can visit.
From our vineyard it is 40 kilometers and takes 45 minutes by car to Neive.
