Rosanna Sandri

HISTORY & FAMILY

The Sandri family’s connection to San Rocco Seno d’Elvio, a hillside hamlet just south of Barbaresco, dates back to the mid-20th century. In 1950, Mario Sandri and his wife Teresina began planting vines alongside other mixed crops, establishing the foundation of the estate. Rosanna, born in 1959, grew up working in the vineyards, absorbing a pragmatic, seasonal understanding of the land.

In 1978, she married Franco Prandi, a grower from nearby Treiso, uniting two smallholdings and expanding vineyard area. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Rosanna and Franco gradually shifted focus from selling grapes to local cellars to bottling their own wines—beginning with Dolcetto and Barbera before adding Barbaresco from the family’s holdings in the “Rizzi” cru.

In the early 2000s, their sons Mauro and Roberto—both trained in oenology—joined the business, marking the next generation. While staying true to their mother’s low-intervention ethos, they brought refinements in canopy management, soil care, and parcel-specific vinification, ensuring the small estate remains competitive among the Langhe’s artisanal producers.

VINEYARDS & PRACTICES

Rosanna Sandri farms roughly 4 hectares across two main sites:

San Rocco Seno d’Elvio — Higher-altitude, south-facing slopes with a mix of clay, limestone, and sandy marl. These parcels give Dolcetto and Barbera their supple fruit and lifted aromatics, while Nebbiolo here retains freshness and fine tannic structure.
Treiso (Rizzi cru) — Classic calcareous marl at ~250–300 m elevation, part of one of Barbaresco’s most respected MGAs. The Nebbiolo here delivers more density, darker fruit, and ageing potential, forming the backbone of the estate’s Barbaresco.

The farming is natural and sustainable: no herbicides or synthetic fertilisers; permanent cover crops for soil health; hand pruning and picking; and green harvests when necessary to balance yields. Vine density averages around 4,500 vines/ha, with many plantings over 40 years old. The brothers’ recent work includes selective replanting with massal selections, maintaining genetic diversity and site-adapted plant material.

WINEMAKING & ETHOS

In the cellar, the approach is deliberately simple and traditional, echoing the methods Rosanna learned from her parents. Grapes are destemmed and fermented with native yeasts in temperature-neutral concrete tanks, allowing a slow, even extraction.

Macerations for Nebbiolo can run three to four weeks, while Dolcetto and Barbera are handled more gently to preserve fruit brightness. Élevage takes place in large Slavonian oak botti for Nebbiolo and Barbaresco, maintaining purity and avoiding overt wood influence; other varietals see time in concrete or stainless steel.

Wines are unfined and unfiltered, with minimal sulphur at bottling, resulting in authentic, site-driven expressions that favour elegance and longevity over flashiness.