Barolo
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Located due south of Alba and the River Tanaro, Barolo is Piedmont's most famous wine DOCG, renowned for producing Italy's finest red wines from 100% Nebbiolo.
Its red wines were originally sweet but in 1840 the then Italian monarchy, the House of Savoy, ordered them to be changed to a dry style. This project was realised by French oenologist Louis Oudart whose experience with Pinot Noir had convinced him of Nebbiolo's potential. The Barolo appellation was formalised in 1966 at around 1700 ha, only a tenth of the size of Burgundy but almost three times as big as neighbouring Barbaresco.
Upgraded to DOCG status in 1980, Barolo comprises two distinct soil types. The first is a Tortonian sandy marl that produces a more feminine style of wine and can be found in the villages of Barolo, La Morra, Cherasco, Verduno, Novello, Roddi and parts of Castiglione Falletto. The second is the older Helvetian sandstone clay that bestows the wines with a more muscular style. This can be found in Monforte d'Alba, Serralunga d'Alba, Diano d'Alba, Grinzane Cavour and the other parts of Castiglione Falletto. Made today from the Nebbiolo clones Lampia, Michet & Rosé, Barolo has an exceptional terroir with almost every village perched on its own hill. The climate is continental, with an extended summer and autumn enabling the fickle Nebbiolo to achieve perfect ripeness.
Inspired by the success of modernists such as Elio Altare, there has been pressure in recent years to reduce the ageing requirements for Barolo. This has been mostly driven by new producers to the region, often with no Piedmontese viticultural heritage and armed with their roto-fermentors and French barriques, intent on making a `fruitier', more modern style of wine.
This `modern' style arguably appeals more to the important American market and its scribes, but the traditionalists continue to argue in favour of making Barolo in the classic way. They make the wine in a mix of epoxy-lined cement or stainless-steel cuves followed by extended ageing in large 25hl slavonian barrels (`botte') to gently soften and integrate the tannins. However, even amongst the `traditionalists' there has been a move since the mid-1990s towards using physiologically (rather than polyphenolically) riper fruit, aided by global warming. Both modernist and traditional schools can produce exceptional or disappointing wines.
Recommended Traditionalist producers:
Giacomo
Borgogno, Giacomo Conterno, Bruno Giacosa, Elio
Grasso, Marcarini,
Bartolo Mascarello and Giuseppe
Mascarello.
Recommended Modernist producers:
Azelia, Aldo
Conterno, Luciano
Sandrone, Paolo Scavino and Roberto Voerzio
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| VINTAGE | WINE | BOTTLE SIZE | PRICES | LIST SETTINGS |
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Dolcetto d'Alba, Az. Agr. Giovanni Rosso, Serralunga d'Alba
Italy » Piedmont » Barolo |
Bottle
(75cl) |
£ 13.25 | |
| 12 x £ 11.90 | ||||
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Special case price
£
142.80
Buy 12 and save £ 16.20 (10%) |
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Medium Bodied,
Dry,
Red,
Dolcetto,
Ready, but will keep,
Organic (Not certified/in conversion),
Cork Closure,
13.5% alc.
Dolcetto d'Alba, Az. Agr. Giovanni Rosso remains as elegant as ever, especially in the crunchy 2008 vintage. All Giovanni Rosso's vineyards lie on the superior Serralunga d'Alba ridge, where white soils & altitude combine, along with a traditional winemaking approach, to deliver one of the ... MORE | ||||
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Langhe Nebbiolo, Lasarin, Az. Agr. Marcarini
Italy » Piedmont » Barolo 15% off for Wine Club Members *
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Bottle
(75cl) |
£ 14.85 | |
| 12 x £ 13.35 | ||||
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Special case price
£
160.20
Buy 12 and save £ 18.00 (10%) |
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Medium-Full Bodied,
Dry,
Red,
Nebbiolo,
Ready, but will improve,
Cork Closure,
13% alc.
In making this wine, Manuel Marchetti has drawn on young vine (Barolo) fruit and from a thirty-year old sandy single-vineyard 'Montaldo' north of the Tanaro River in the Roero region. Swiftly stainless-steel fermented at reasonably low temperatures, Manuel's preserved a combination of floral and ... MORE BBR Score: 17/20 * 15% off single bottle price for Wine Club Members. Savings will be applied at checkout. You must be logged in to your wine club account to qualify. | ||||
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Barbera d'Alba, Az. Agr. Giovanni Rosso, Serralunga d'Alba
Italy » Piedmont » Barolo |
Bottle
(75cl) |
£ 16.30 | |
| 12 x £ 14.65 | ||||
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Special case price
£
175.80
Buy 12 and save £ 19.80 (10%) |
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Medium-Full Bodied,
Dry,
Red,
Barbera,
Ready, but will keep,
Organic (Not certified/in conversion),
Cork Closure,
13.5% alc.
Compared to the perfumed, red-fruited 2005, Davide's 2006 exudes a brooding black cloud feel to it, a fleshier, tapenade-cum-licorice character, balanced by Barbera's refreshing, zippy acidity as well as by the minerality that comes with Serralunga's great terroir. This makes for an excellent food ... MORE Drink 2009-2016 . | ||||
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Barolo, Cru la Serra, Marcarini
Italy » Piedmont » Barolo |
Bottle
(75cl) |
£ 31.00 | |
| 12 x £ 27.90 | ||||
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Special case price
£
334.80
Buy 12 and save £ 37.20 (10%) |
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Full Bodied,
Dry,
Red,
Nebbiolo,
Ready, but will keep,
Cork Closure,
14% alc.
"Manuel Marchetti's La Serra vineyard in Barolo is sited high-up on the La Morra hill which, together with the fine calcareous & sandstone soils gives the wine a beautiful perfumed elegance, a full yet refined palate crammed with ripe red spicy berried fruit, fresh yet succulent." (David ... MORE Drink 2008-2015 . | ||||
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Barolo DOCG Serralunga d'Alba, Az. Agr. Giovanni Rosso
Italy » Piedmont » Barolo |
Bottle
(75cl) |
£ 31.20 | |
| 12 x £ 28.05 | ||||
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Special case price
£
336.60
Buy 12 and save £ 37.80 (10%) |
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Full Bodied,
Dry,
Red,
Nebbiolo,
Ready, but will improve,
Organic (Not certified/in conversion),
Cork Closure,
14.5% alc.
A definite, starkly more defined, step-up on the 'Storico' blend, Davide's Serralunga cuvee captures all that is great about this magical village (one that over the centuries has consistently claimed the highest price for its fruit...). The strong limestone, elevated soils are reflected in the ... MORE Drink 2011-2025 . BBR Score: 18/20 | ||||
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Barolo DOCG, Az. Agr. Cascina Fontana, Piedmont
Italy » Piedmont » Barolo |
Bottle
(75cl) |
£ 34.25 | |
| 12 x £ 30.68 | ||||
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Special case price
£
368.16
Buy 12 and save £ 42.84 (10%) |
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Full Bodied,
Dry,
Red,
Nebbiolo,
Ready, but will improve,
Cork Closure,
14% alc.
Mario remembers 2004 as being a vintage that required lots of work in the vineyard (similar in fact to 2009), time evidently well spent as the wine shows a bright heart of lush darker fruit, a herbal, savoury edge, a broader, fuller feel, while the firm tannins remain as fine-tuned as ever. Still ... MORE | ||||
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Barolo DOCG, Az. Agr. Cascina Fontana, Piedmont
Italy » Piedmont » Barolo |
Bottle
(75cl) |
£ 34.25 | |
| 12 x £ 30.68 | ||||
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Special case price
£
368.16
Buy 12 and save £ 42.84 (10%) |
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Full Bodied,
Dry,
Red,
Nebbiolo,
For laying down,
Cork Closure,
14% alc.
'More savoury red cherry perfumed than the darker fruited 2004, the 2005 vintage was characterised by a mild summer and the threat of rain at harvest time. Mario's 2005 Barolo, a traditional blend of four vineyards Gallinotto, Pozzo, Villero & Valletti, remains unflustered, a deliciously ... MORE | ||||
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Barolo DOCG Scarrone, Castiglione Falletto, Bava
Italy » Piedmont » Barolo |
Bottle
(75cl) |
£ 37.50 | |
| 12 x £ 33.75 | ||||
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Special case price
£
405.00
Buy 12 and save £ 45.00 (10%) |
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Medium-Full Bodied,
Dry,
Red,
Nebbiolo,
Ready, but will keep,
Cork Closure,
13.5% alc.
A classic example of traditionally-made Barolo. One that’s spent three to four years in 50 hl large Slavonian oak barrels shedding its coarser skin, and gradually metamorphosing into a beautiful Barolo! Perfumed with sweet red-berried fruit, a hint of tar and a whiff of wild herbs, this ... MORE Drink 2006-2011 . | ||||
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Barolo, Cru Santo Stefano di Perno, Giuseppe Mascarello
Italy » Piedmont » Barolo |
Bottle
(75cl) |
£ 44.00 | |
| 12 x £ 39.28 | ||||
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Special case price
£
471.36
Buy 12 and save £ 56.64 (10.5%) |
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Full Bodied,
Dry,
Red,
Nebbiolo,
Ready, but will keep,
Cork Closure,
14% alc.
"Scented and lively and old leaves on the nose – lovely hint of roses. Yes!" (Jancis Robinson MW, jancisrobinson.com - Nov 08) Exclusive to Berrys, this is a quintessential Barolo. Full of tar and rose petal aromas, with a full-bodied, suave palate. This will age ... MORE Jancis Score: 18/20 | ||||
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Barolo DOCG, Via Nuova, E.Pira di Chiara Boschis, Piedmont
Italy » Piedmont » Barolo New
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Bottle
(75cl) |
£ 44.75 | |
| 12 x £ 40.67 | ||||
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Special case price
£
488.04
Buy 12 and save £ 48.96 (9%) |
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Full Bodied,
Dry,
Red,
Nebbiolo,
Ready, but will improve,
Cork Closure,
14% alc.
Delicately perfumed notes of 'meriame' (a brilliant red wild cherry), refinement and freshness decorate the piece; while to taste one can just sense the beautiful purity of fruit, the life, more cherry stone, and juicy as only Barolo from Barolo can be. Chiara's rightly eased up on the oak in ... MORE Drink 2009-2020 . The Wine Advocate Score: 92/100 | ||||







