Lucrezia Carrega Malabaila represents the 65th generation of the Malabaila family, a lineage woven deeply into the agricultural and cultural history of the Roero, yet her own path into wine was not automatic. Born in Florence to a Florentine mother and a father with partly Piedmontese roots, Lucrezia spent her early childhood in Canale before returning to Florence, where she completed university studies in Economics. In 2010, after her father died, wine shifted from family legacy to daily work. She returned to the estate to work alongside Alfredo, her partner and the estate’s winemaker, and stepped fully into the rhythms of cellar and vineyard. From that point forward, Malabaila became something she actively carried forward.
Based in Canale, at the heart of the Roero, the Malabaila family has farmed these sandy hills for centuries, shaping a style that favors poise, fragrance and quiet persistence over power.
Roero is often described in contrast to its more famous neighbor across the Tanaro. Where Barolo leans monumental and brooding, Roero is airier and more aromatic, with lighter soils of marine origin. The sands and fossil-laced sediments here guide Nebbiolo toward red fruit, dried flowers and spice rather than sheer tannic mass. At Lucrezia Carrega, that profile is handled with respect and restraint.
As Lucrezia’s role grew, so did the estate’s outward reach. Her curiosity about the broader wine world, its creativity, movement and dialogue, led to extensive travel and gradual international expansion for Malabaila. Even as the wines reached new markets, the work stayed anchored in Roero.
The approach is traditional without being rigid. Farming is attentive and measured, cellar work patient rather than interventionist. The goal is not to sculpt Nebbiolo into something grander than its place, but to bring Roero’s natural elegance forward: lifted aromatics, fine-boned structure and a sense of transparency that works at the table.
In the glass, Carrega’s wines often open with classic Nebbiolo perfume: rose petal, sour cherry and wild strawberry. Then come quieter layers: orange peel, anise, iron and a faint savory earthiness. The wines feel drawn with a steady hand. The palate stays linear and composed, driven by acidity and finesse rather than extraction. Tannins are present but not domineering, more frame than grip, and the finish often carries a gentle saline note that keeps you reaching for food and another sip.
That idea of drawing is not accidental. Alongside her work in wine, Lucrezia is a self-taught artist, developing a visual language in parallel. In 2020, during the Covid period, she chose to connect the two practices more directly.
Rather than treating labels as decoration, Lucrezia began studying each wine’s structure, energy and emotional tone, its weight, tension, movement and temperament, and pairing it with an animal. The animal becomes a quick visual shorthand for what you can expect in the glass. Is it agile or grounded? Taut or expansive? Nervous, calm or commanding?
Each back label features her original drawing, made specifically for that wine. For seminar purposes, these images work like an extension of tasting vocabulary, another way to translate aroma, structure and balance without technical language. The art does not replace the tasting. It gives people a second entry point.
Along the way, Lucrezia began collaborating with an art curator and exhibiting her work in solo and group shows in Italy and abroad, reinforcing the idea that wine, like art, carries authorship.
What makes Lucrezia Carrega especially resonant in a seminar setting is how clearly the wines show Roero's identity. These are wines that reward the curious wine taster, and they're wonderful alongside braised meats, mushrooms, tajarin or just some good bread.
In a region defined by history and hierarchy, Lucrezia Carrega Malabaila is a reminder that elegance can carry authority. The wines stay calm and precise, grounded in place, continuity and the Roero’s sandy slopes.
Wines to be tasted:2018 Methodo Classico "Pas Dose" $51.99
2018 Nebbiolo Spumante Rose "Pas Dose" $51.99
2024 Roero Arneis "Le Tre" $24.99
2023 Roero Arneis "Pradvaj" $29.99
2023 Langhe Nebbiolo 'Aja' $29.99
2017 Roero Riserva Castelletto $61.99
2024 Brachetto 'Birbet' $29.99
All prices listed reflect regular retail. Significant discounts will be offered on all wines tasted. Due to the highly allocated nature of some selections, wines may change without notice.
