Faset, the elegance and beauty of Barbaresco
Faset is a magnificent vineyard within the municipality of Barbaresco, a town located a few kilometres from Alba.
We are in the north-east of Langhe, on those hills overlooking the banks of the Tanaro River, east of Alba, and bordering with the first hills of the Monferrato on the north-west.
The town of Barbaresco is one of the four municipalities, together with Neive, Treiso and San Rocco Seno d’Elvio, in the suburbs of Alba, in which the Barbaresco denomination is vinified.
The territory of the municipality of Barbaresco is characterized by a long ridge that starts from Neive (in the north) and goes up to Alba and Treiso (to the south). Its shape is similar to that of a wedge or a “spearhead”. A long stretch of this ridge is accompanied, on the western side, by the Tanaro River, whose microclimate expressively influences this area: humid and muggy in summer and very cold in winter.
The Faset MGA rises in the center of this “spearhead”, facing west: a small portion of this MGA reaches the Tanaro River, at a height of 220 meters. The eastern part of Faset is bordered by another great name of Barbaresco, the Asili cru, while in the north and in the south there are, respectively, Cars and Pora.
Faset is one of the most famous Barbaresco MGAs, and it is named after the homonymous farmhouse built here. Its morphological conformation presents two deep basins facing north-west / south-east direction, which form a high hill ridge, whose peak reaches 270 meters.
The vineyards of Chiarlo stretch out for about 1 hectare in the central and highest part of the MGA, with a perfect south-western exposure. These are very steep vineyards, with a spectacular view of the river and the woods of Barbaresco (whose name comes from the Latin “Barbarica Silva”) which are wedged in the valley of Rio Sordo, where the old Barbaresco station, now transformed into a cellar, once stood.
In the nineteenth century, Faset was entirely owned by the Cocito family of Neive, but today it is divided among several different owners. As Alessandro Masnaghetti writes in his important book Barbaresco MGA, Faset is one of the «best known areas of the entire denomination […] in which the portion shared with the Pora MGA (where Chiarlo’s area can be found, ed.) is the most appreciated of all».
MICHELE CHIARLO’S BARBARESCO FASET
The soil of Faset is greyish-white in colour, calcareous and marly, interspersed with layers of sandy grains, rich in minerals among which magnesium and manganese are the most present. A perfect ground for great Barbaresco wines, which are marked by an excellent structure, silky texture, elegant tannins and fine and intense aromas.
A SUSTAINABLE CRU AND A LANDSCAPE PROTECTED BY UNESCO
Like many of Chiarlo’s crus, Faset is part of the V.I.V.A. Sustainable Wine project, to which this winery of Calamandrana has participated in order to improve and monitor its environmental impact and sustainability along the entire supply chain. The landscape of Faset, like the whole Barbaresco denomination, is part of the 6 core areas identified by UNESCO and is considered a World Heritage Site for its scenic beauty and the inextricable bond between man and viticulture, here expressed in their highest and most elegant forms.
