Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato

Ruchè is a vine whose origin is not yet well known, but there are only a few hypotheses - all obviously to be taken with the springs - related to its name. The first claims that it derives from "Rocche", or that the vine is well suited to cultivation on these sandy, calcareous clayey conformations (present above all in the Langhe and Roero) due to erosion. The second states that the name derives from "San Rocco" saint highly venerated in the area, while the third cites a "Convent of the Rocche" whose friars seem to have safeguarded the vine. Cultivated exclusively in the surroundings of Castagnole Monferrato, in 2000 there were less than fifty hectares of this vine, while the data provided by the Vignaioli Piemontesi and relating to the year 2019 quantify, only for the DOCG Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato, 158 hectares (1,130,000 bottles produced), to which must then be added - not many to be honest - the hectares that are outside the denomination area.  Analysis carried out on the DNA of the vine has shown that there is no similarity with other vines in the area therefore Ruchè remains a unique and somewhat mysterious vine. The Ruchè of Castagnole Monferrato Docg. For the Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato the Doc arrived in 1987 while in 2010 it obtained the Docg, its production area is limited to seven municipalities in the province of Asti: Castagnole Monferrato, Montemagno, Grana, Portacomaro, Refrancore, Scurzolengo and Viarigi.

Usually wines with a bright ruby color are obtained, with a good olfactory intensity, its aromas are slightly aromatic and spicy, its low acidity and not high tannins make it wines to drink within a few years.

The Crivelli Farm

A great-great-grandfather of Marco Maria Crivelli, coming from the Crivelli hamlet, in the municipality of Castiglione d'Asti, settled in Castagnole Monferrato around the mid-nineteenth century, buying vineyards and immediately starting the production of wine both from his own vineyards and from others, conducted in sharecropping.

After the Second World War, Marco Maria's father gave the grapes to the recently born Cantina Sociale, we are in 1979 when Marco Maria decides to produce wine directly with his own label and after about ten years he manages to market it abroad. In 2000 the new winery was built and currently the company - which is run together with his son Jonathan - can count on eight hectares of vineyards. It is usually recommended to drink Ruchè within the first years of life, even if the producer of this wine claims that it can easily withstand up to over ten years from the harvest, we have gone further and our bottle has remained almost thirty years in the cellar.

This long time has contributed to discolor the wine a lot, which now has a color between garnet and pale orange and with orange nail.

On the other hand, its olfactory spectrum has expanded dramatically, although losing a lot in intensity, the scents are obviously of a tertiary nature even if a slight aromatic memory remains, the evolution of the wine is clear without however resulting in oxidative notes, ranging from leather to autumn notes that recall wet leaves, mushrooms, moist earth, The roots, the withered flowers, the licorice stick, but also spices (pepper and vanilla) and dried fruit, but it is not only about the breadth of aromas, but also about remarkable elganza. This breadth and complexity of scents, however, we do not find in the mouth where the wine appears a little thin, with a light structure, the wine is dry and the tannins still seem scratchy, we find hinted spicy notes and a puff of cooked fruit, light spicy hints are caught in closing where we still find a good persistence. Overall a wine more from the nose than from the mouth but it did its job very well during lunch, worthily accompanying a free-range rooster in the pan. Last note concerns the beautiful label.

Ps: an article already written I learn about the death of Lidia Bianco, for 25 years mayor of Castagnole Monferrato, was under his push and that of Giacomo Cauda, parish priest of the municipality, who revalued the Ruchè vine, until obtaining in 1987 the Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato designation of origin.