Umberto Fracassi, Favorita, 2022

White flowers, Citrus, Mineral

Piedmont / White / Favorita / Organic

The vineyards are farmed organically and the fruit is picked by hand into small boxes. Grapes are gently pressed and the must is fermented in stainless-steel tanks—usually with indigenous yeasts and minimal intervention—then matured on fine lees in tank for several months to retain freshness and aromatic lift. Bottling is typically light on filtration and with restrained use of sulphur so the wine remains bright, floral and mineral with a subtle savoury edge. 

Notes on the producer

Umberto Fracassi is a small, family-run producer based in Cherasco on the western edge of the Barolo zone. Production is very modest and focused on honest, site-expressive wines — from white Favorita to Barolo from the family’s parcels (including the small Mantoetto monopole for their Barolo). The estate works with traditional, low-intervention techniques: hand harvesting, careful pressing and straightforward cellar work that favours stainless steel for the whites and limited oak for reds, producing wines that are fresh, savoury and increasingly sought after outside the locality. Fracassi’s labels are often only available in small quantities, so they can be hard to track down.