Frecciarossa

The growing area of the Oltrepò Pavese seems to be the Bermuda Triangle of northwestern Italy, lost between more famous growing areas like Piemonte, Liguria, and Emilia. Italians call it Vecchio Piemonte, for the way time seems to have stood still there, with its many sleepy medieval villages and cheerful osterie. It’s here that the 19th century organic farm and estate of Frecciarossa [FRETCH-cha-ROS-sa] resides on a resplendent 37 hectares, of which 27 are vineyards whose plots weave amid wheat and alfalfa fields, hazelnut groves (10 hectares!), fruit trees, bee hives, six cows, and a small vegetable garden. A cellar-temperature glass of Frecciarossa’s savoury Pinot Noir becomes the perfect accompaniment for noshing a late lunch garden salade with crushed hazelnuts, and slices of local salami and schita. It’s one of many examples of how the Villa’s shaded courtyard and larger estate nonchalantly commingles old school Oltrepò – with some decidedly 1920’s French flair.

The People and History:
Mario Odero founded Frecciarossa in 1919. Originally an Italian merchant who split his time between Genova and England, he fell in love with the hills and vineyards surrounding the 18th century villa. His son, Giorgio Odero, continuing his father’s same passion for wine and country life, studied wine and agronomy in Champagne and Burgundy to better understand Pinot Noir. By the 1920’s, Frecciarossa had become a well-known winery and estate far beyond the confines of Oltrepò Pavese. So much so that Alfred Hitchcock, while staying at Lake Como’s famous Villa D’Este, wrote on the back of its menu “In Italia our first wine from 1925 was Frecciarossa ‘La Vigne’ Bianca.”³

Today, the great grandaughter of Mario Odero, Valeria Radici Odero, has taken up the reigns of this historic estate and has fast-forwarded it into producing ever-more compelling fine wines, without losing the easy going bon vivant charm found here. Valeria remains an intricate part of the production, from her astute palate to her unwavering dedication to all things Frecciarossa:

I often go to France to see my family, and bring new wines to my son who is beginning his career as a sommelier in Paris. Whenever I come back to Frecciarossa, it’s coming back to Casa for me, with a capital C. I am deeply attached to the land here, my roots here are deep.There’s my family’s history, my own personal history, and the history of our wines over all these years. I love everything about this place – even the stones.

In 2020, she brought on the Piedmont consultant Cristiano Garella to work alongside the historic enologist Gianluca Scaglione with promising results. Valeria is quick to underline the “hard work in the vineyards” and “vigilance” in the cellar. She continues:

[Wine] is born in the vineyard, we search to give it a direction, to respect it, to allow it to continue to tell the story of its origins when it goes off into a bottle. Wine’s a bit like a son or daughter like that. 

Wines, Varieties, Soils:
The estate is split between vinifying local grapes (Uva Rara, Croatina, and Barbera), and, Pinot Nero. ‘Anamari’ is the cru bottling from the estate’s older vineyards of the local varieties. It’s a classic texture-wine, mixing freshness with bitter cross weaves. It will be interesting to see how this ages.

Pinot Noir is planted on 21 hectares,  with the savory red-fruit and mineral driven ‘Carillo’ providing contrast to the complex cellar aged Pinot Nero ‘Giorgio Odero.’ Hitchcock’s wine, ‘Sillery,’ is a rare curiosity: a Pinot Nero vinified as a white wine; refreshing, with crushed flowers underpinning its relative litheness. It’s such an inviting and joyous little wine! Speaking of wines not to miss, the floral Pinot Grigio is made with grapes coming from the higher hillside plots to give it depth. In a world of bland Pinot Grigio, this is delightful.

The soil? It’s mostly iron-rich red clay, with veins of marl and limestone. The shells one finds in the soil bear witness to the forgotten sea once found here. There’s even a cute misnaming story of the word Frecciarossa related to the soil. Frecciarossa literally means ‘Red Arrow,’ yet that wasn’t the original name of estate when it was purchased. As explained on Frecciarossa’s website:

The original name in the local dialect of the area was fraccia rossa, or “red landslide,” thus named because of the color and nature of the soil. The terrain here is mostly clay with veins of iron ore and retains great amounts of water underground. These, in turn, cause frequent landslides. The expression was mistakenly translated as Frecciarossa at the local registry, at the turn of the last century, and has remained the name of our hill ever since.

It’s a landslide win to have Valeria and the whole team and history of Frecciarossa part of PortoVino’s portfolio. Too many times, estates on the winding road to making fine wines lose their charm and the light love of creating a context where people relax with a glass of wine with friends. That couldn’t be further from the truth here. Much credit to Valeria and the team at this historic winery, which continues to seek vinous excellence while still providing the balm of good cheer and culture.

¹ Oltre or ‘beyond’ the Pò, the Oltrepò territory could be considered an upside triangle whose base runs just south of the river Pò.
² There are so many charming and well-run trattorie, osterie, and ristoranti to be discovered here. Slow Food puts out an excellent Osteria d’Italia guide book that’s worth getting. There is an app as well!
³ ‘La Vigne’ was Pinot Nero vinified as a white wine, with a touch or Riesling. It was similar to today’s ‘Sillery’ bottling, which is now 100% Pinot Nero vinified as a white wine. See Hitchcock’s original note here.