Barolo

From LoveToKnow Wine

Italy's Preeminent Wine

Barolo is often called Italy's King of Wines and the Wine for Kings. To be forthright, I didn't learn this until later in my wine appreciation years. As a neophyte wine drinker in my youth I thought Italian wine was strictly the red stuff in those straw-encased bottles of cheap Chianti that hung from the ceiling in the Two Guys from Italy restaurant where I would take a date to try to impress her with my cosmopolitan ways.

The Chianti in those straw covered fiaschi bottles was at best, listless. My revelation about Barolo wine occurred later, at a small Italian trattoria in Hannover, Germany. I was there on company business for a computer tradeshow and on this particular night I was out with my boss and another coworker. My boss, Bob, was looking at the wine list and asked the two of us, "What do you think? Are you up for a Barolo?"

I had no clue but I was game. Besides, I didn't have to worry about my boss signing my expense report, he had his own to worry about. I don't remember the food, other than I had about five courses of Italian heaven. The Barolo? Revelatory. There were four things I do remember that night. One, the wine was a Ceretto. The second was there was no straw basket around the bottle, And the third thing? It turned my viewpoint of Italian wines upside down. This was a big and powerful wine with combination punches of flavors that came in a flurry. It was tough, rustic, masculine, and unpretentiously compelling. The final thing that sticks in my mind is Bob ordered two more bottles after that first one.

Northern Italy's Wine Kingdom

Barolo is produced in Italy's Piemonte. That means land at the foot of the mountains. Those mountains are the Alps, and they wrap around this wine region on three sides. The specific region where Barolo is made is called the Langhe, and it's a region of steep and rolling hillside vineyards dotted with small villages. There are five that represent the core Barolo-producing villages: Barolo, La Morra, Castiglione Falletto, Serraluna d'Alba, and Monforte d'Alba. Barolo is also a D.O.C.G., representing the top of Italy's designated wine appellations, and one of its smallest. It's a tough and austere land with more than its fair share of cold weather and challenges for grape growers and winemakers.

Nebbiolo

This is the single grape varietal in Barolo. It's a black grape that is probably named after a common phenomenon in Piedmont, nebbia. That's the word for fog that blankets the area in October. The big thing to know about Nebbiolo is that it's a roughhouse grape loaded with complex flavors but also packed with heavy duty bitter tannins. Farmers by nature are worriers. And when the autumn comes the Piedmont farmers begin to worry, big time. Nebbiolo is late ripening grape and if the rains and cold come early, then the Barolo grape doesn't have a chance to reach its potential. Vineyard positioning becomes critical and can make all the difference between a excellent and mediocre vintage. Consequently, you may find the terms, bricco, which means hilltop, sori, which means a hilltop with southern exposure, and costa, which indicates a hillside with sun, on Barolo wine labels. Obviously, the more sun the better and the best vineyards hog the best warming plots of land.

Barolo Character

For years, up until the 1980s, achieving a great Barolo was like kicking a 60-yard field goal in football. Because of the bitter and harsh tannins inherent in the grape, winemakers would need to age the wine in oak or chestnut casks for years, at least 10 and even up to 25, to ameliorate the tannins. This often left the wine oxidized and washed out the grape's fruit characters. This oxidation would be easily observed by the wine's brownish tint in the glass.

Then the modernists, winemakers using modern winemaking practices, began changing the style and outcome of the wine. They began to control temperature during fermentation and shorten exposure of juice to skins to help decrease tannin levels. Also, they began using smaller French oak barrels and bottling the wine sooner to preserve its fruitiness rather than letting it slink away.

The result is a Barolo with a lush and opulent character with its tannins if not contained, at least somewhat restrained. Nowadays, a Barolo is aged by law a minimum of three years with five years for a Riserva. That being said, it is still best to drink Barolo a minimum of five years after the vintage date.

If drunk too early, the complex flavors may be a no-show and leave you wondering what the big deal is about Barolo. When done well some of the aromas and flavors to expect are tar, licorice, leather, violets, chocolate, figs, and prunes. Also note Barolo wines are heavier in alcohol than most Italian wines and you can expect 14 percent to 15 percent alcohol. To say the least, Barolo is a difficult wine to make well and not inexpensive. Because of the low production volume and lengthy aging required to make Barolo wine, the cost for a bottle will likely start at the mid-$30 ground floor range and rise like an elevator from there.

Top Barolo Producers

Barolo in general is produced as an estate-bottled, single vineyard wine. The majority are small family-owned wineries but there are also negociants who blend Barolo from different vineyards in the region. The following is a short list of some of the best Barolo producers.

  • Aldo Conterno
  • Giacomo Conterno
  • Ceretto
  • Gaja
  • Pio Cesare
  • Prunotto
  • Paolo Scavino
  • Fratelli Revello
  • La Spinetta

Paired with Food

Barolo matches the food of the Piedmont, which is hearty, rich, and a carnivore's delight. You will find feasts of roasted game, veal, pork, and lamb dishes plus sausages, meat-based risottos and pastas, and polenta with everything. Add a full-bodied Barolo to the mix and the chilly and foggy evening will vanish. Ahh, but one more thing. Piedmont is also the home to white truffles, the earth's retort to the sea's oysters. Be a hedonist—shave some earthy white truffle on top of that tagliatelle, pour a glass of Barolo, and smile about your La Dolce Vita.


 


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