Two brothers, Alessandro and Gian Natale Fantino, run this family estate in Monforte d’Alba. As a fifty percent owner of Cantina Bartolo Mascarello for a large part of his career, Alessandro made the wines there and managed the vineyards for 20 years, from 1978 to 1998. In 1998 he sold his half to Bartolo’s daughter Maria-Teresa, and dedicated himself to helping his brother run their family estate full-time. The brothers own eight hectares in the heart of the historic Bussia cru north of Monforte, one of Barolo’s most famous areas for producing wines of great longevity and finesse.

The Fantino holdings are concentrated exclusively in the “Dardi” section of Bussia, a hillside with perfect southeastern exposure in the geographic center of Bussia. This gives them their “Cascina Dardi” brand name on the label of their Barbera and Baroli (for those already familiar with these wines, they were formerly labeled as Vigna dei Dardi, before the brotheres registered the Cascina Dardi trademark).