<b>Ian d'Agata, Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, July 2009.</b><p><i>Few winery owners in Italy are more likable or dedicated than Filippo Antonelli. Past president of the Sagrantino di Montefalco consortium and one who has done much for the wine and the production zone (so much so that most of the members want him back at the helm!), Antonelli's wines are also some of the easiest to drink and appreciate, not always a given with a grape as tannic as sagrantino. The fairly new single-vineyard top-of-the-line Chiusa di Pannone bottling is stellar in 2004. It may be an exaggeration to give full credit to the adage that Montefalco old-timers have whispered to me over the years ("if you want to drink a traditional and well-made Sagrantino, pick one that begins with an 'a'") but after many years of tasting all of the wines of the area, I can safely conclude that the saying is not far off the mark.</i>

The Rivetto family wine business began in 1902 when Giovanni Rivetto opened a wine store in Asti. Twenty years later he moved to Alba and then in 1938 acquired Tenuta Loirano in Serralunga d’Alba. A new winery was built by third generation Sergio Rivetto in 1970 and today the winery is in the hands of the fourth generation, Enrico Rivetto.<p> The winemaking philosophy is one of minimum intervention and maximum respect for the vineyard. No synthetic chemicals are used in the vineyards and the vine rows are planted with native grasses and legumes to keep the soil vital and reduce compaction.<p> Under Enrico’s leadership, Rivetto is going from strength to strength. The wine quality across the board is excellent and a No. 16 in the Wine Spectator Top 100 for the 2006 Barolo is testament to that.<p> From the vineyards surrounding the Loirano hill, Rivetto produces several crus of Barolo and Barbera d’Alba, along with Dolcetto and the excitin