The Winemaker Who Keeps the Choir

2021 Viberti Buon Padre Barolo

Claudio Viberti makes four single-vineyard Barolo Riservas: Bricco delle Viole, La Volta, San Pietro, Monvigliero. Each one could command a premium. Each one tells a story about slope, soil, and light. Collectors would line up.

But the flagship wine—the one that carries the family name forward—is still the Buon Padre, a blend of ten cru sites across Barolo, Monforte d'Alba, and Verduno. This is the wine his great-grandfather Antonio served at the Locanda del Buon Padre in 1923, made from La Volta and Bricco delle Viole. Today it's ten vineyards: Albarella, Bricco delle Viole, La Volta, San Pietro, Fossati, Terlo, Ravera, San Ponzio, Monvigliero, Perno.

Claudio could bottle these separately and multiply his revenue. Instead, he keeps the Buon Padre as a choir.

This isn't about rejecting single vineyards. He makes them. This is about choosing what the flagship means. And what it means is continuity. Not scarcity.

The Trap We All Fall Into

We've been trained to believe that specificity equals quality. Single vineyard. Single parcel. Exact coordinates. The narrower the origin, the more authentic it feels. But authenticity is a marketing construct. We pay more for wines that sound rare, even when blind tastings prove we can't tell the difference.

I've watched people light up when I tell them a Barolo is from Cannubi. The same wine, from "Barolo DOCG," gets a polite nod. The liquid is identical. The story changes everything.

Claudio knows this. He owns parcels in some of the most famous cru in Barolo. But the Buon Padre doesn't name them on the label. It just says "Barolo." It asks you to trust that ten sites—85% from the Barolo commune—are better together than apart.

This is harder to sell. But it's closer to the truth.

The Anti-Review

I open the bottle on a Tuesday. No guests. No occasion. Just me and the wine.

The 2021 vintage was nearly perfect—cold winter, fresh spring, warm summer with cool nights that gave the vines time to recover. No heat spikes. No panic. The result is high acid, vibrancy, structural integrity. This is the kind of vintage that will improve for a decade, maybe two.

The wine itself is transparent. Preserved cherry, cinnamon, blood orange, anise. The tannins are firm but refined—they don't need to prove anything. It's aged 36-40 months in large-format tini, then bottled unfiltered. There's nowhere for mediocrity to hide.

What strikes me is the honesty. The wine doesn't seduce immediately. It doesn't perform. It just asks you to sit with it. To trust that equilibrium is harder to achieve than dominance.

The single-vineyard Riservas—Bricco delle Viole, La Volta—are extraordinary. But they're soloists. The Buon Padre is the ensemble. And the ensemble is what carries the name forward.

What Maria Knows

Claudio's mother, Maria, still makes tajarin in the kitchen at the Locanda. She's a twin, and the family Barbera d'Alba is named after her—La Gemella, "The Twin". Maria insisted the family keep making Barbera and Dolcetto, because those are the wines locals drink every day. Barolo is for special occasions. Barbera is for life.

The family also makes a single-vineyard Barbera from Bricco Airoldi, planted in 1921—the last patch of Barbera vines still found within the boundaries of the Bricco delle Viole cru. This is a serious wine. But it's still Barbera.

Claudio once told his father he'd only work with the family if they stopped making mediocre wine. His father was offended. But he relented. Claudio replanted, dropped yields, made flagship wines.

But he didn't abandon the Barbera. He made it better. Because legacy isn't about choosing between tradition and ambition. It's about holding both at once.

The Lesson

The Buon Padre doesn't taste better because it's rare. It tastes better because it's patient. Because Claudio could easily chase the single-vineyard premium, but he keeps the blend. Because the wine has been served at the same restaurant for over a century.

Drink it now if you want. Or wait. The cathedral is still being built.
But Maria's tajarin is ready.

Equilibrium is harder to achieve than dominance. // Arnt