Italy · Piedmont

Cappellano

Cappellano is a Serralunga d'Alba estate of profound historical significance — the family's ancestor Bartolomeo Cappellano is credited with patenting the fortified wine Barolo Chinato in 1890. Today the domaine is run by Augusto Cappellano's descendants, following Teobaldo Cappellano's death in 2009. The estate farms approximately 3 hectares in the Gabutti cru of Serralunga and produces Barolo from ungrafted vines (Pie Franco) and from American-rootstock grafted vines (Pie Rupestris), as well as a standard Barolo. At $436 average per bottle across 321 lots, Cappellano ranks among the most expensive producers in the auction database, with prices driven by microscopic production — estimated at under 2,000 bottles total per vintage across all wines. The Pie Franco, vinified from pre-phylloxera ungrafted Nebbiolo vines, is a singular artefact with no production equivalent in Barolo and commands exceptional prices when it appears. The Pie Rupestris, from American rootstock material planted in the same Gabutti parcel, is the more regular if still tiny production. The Gabutti site in Serralunga produces wines of tremendous tannic density and longevity, making them among the slowest-developing Barolos in the market.