Breaking New Ground from Roots
Firmly Anchored in Tradition
Marcello Cattaneo Adorno is the latest generation of a long established Genoese family dating back to the thirteenth century. His family has long been important in the Genoa region, and among his ancestors were seven Dogi of the Genoese Republic. In 1997, he found himself taking over the family estate at Retorbido in the heart of Oltrepò Pavese.
It had been in the family since 1834 and had always produced Barbera and Cortese. Faced with an estate of ancient vines producing only simple wines for local consumption, it was time to take hard decisions - let things continue to decline or do things properly with a fresh start and lots of investment. He chose the latter.
Today there are 55 hectares of newly planted and revitalised vineyards with plans to increase this to a total of 80 hectares - all carefully chosen sloping sites facing southwards. Marcello has chosen to grow both top quality clones of international varieties like Merlot, Cabernet and Syrah, and also traditional local varieties like Croatina, Barbera, Pinot Grigio and Cortese. These have been bought from local nurseries and planted at much higher densities than is normal for the area.
Marcello Cattaneo Adorno aims to offer wine drinkers worldwide the best that Oltrepò has to offer, by exploiting the full potential of the generous and beautiful rolling hillside vineyards. His commitment to quality and use of innovation to build on a foundation of tradition have produced a range of superb, modern and appealing wines that remain true to their historical roots.
Quality without Compromise from the Ground Up
Marcello Adorno is passionate about quality and his ambition is simply to produce the best wines of Oltrepò Pavese. To help him achieve this aim, he has sought the help of one of Italy's top consultants, Professor Donato Lanati, along with his team at Enosis. Professor Lanati is recognised as one of Italy's finest, because unlike many other consultant winemakers, he does not make identical wines to the same formula but works to emphasise the "terroir" and the unique qualities of each estate. Marcello recognises that wine quality comes from the vineyard first and foremost. Under the supervision of Professor Lanati, his vineyard manager has set up various viticultural trials to research the best way of managing each vineyard plot for top quality fruit.