Italy · Tuscany

La Spinetta

La Spinetta is a Piedmont estate founded by Giorgio Rivetti in Castagnole Lanze in the Asti district in 1977, expanding to produce Barbaresco, Barolo, and Tuscany holdings including the Vursu and Campe labels. The estate's Barbaresco program draws from the Starderi, Valeirano, and Gallina MGA crus in the Neive area of the Barbaresco zone, with each cru vinified separately. Vursu represents the single-vineyard cru selections; Campe is the flagship Barolo sourced from the La Morra cru. The Tuscan operation adds Bolgheri-area reds including Rosso Pin, a Cabernet-Merlot-Sangiovese blend. Giorgio Rivetti's approach is modernist — rotary fermenters, small French barriques, controlled temperatures — producing wines of concentrated color and fruit that have attracted high scores from Italian wine specialists. At auction, La Spinetta averages $128 per bottle across 212 lots with peaks to $1,434. The top Vursu Barbaresco cru selections from benchmark years (2010, 2016) and the Campe Barolo command the premium tier. La Spinetta Il Rosé Casanova adds a rosé expression. The estate's modern stylistic approach places it among Italy's internationalist producers. The Barbaresco Vursu selections have attracted consistent 93–96 point scores from Italian wine specialists Vinous and James Suckling, establishing La Spinetta's cru program as among Neive's most recognizable modern Barbaresco.