Piemont

DOCG for dry red wine in the Piemont region in Italy, named after the town of the same name, located 15 km south of Alba. The zone was defined as DOC in 1966 and has a total vineyard area of just on 1.300 hectares (which are divided into equally many small parcels) located in the Langhe hills, and includes the communes (sometimes only parts thereof) of Barolo, Castiglione Falletto, Cherasco, Grinziano, La Morra (by far the largest area, with one third of the vineyard area), Monforte d´Alba, NovelloRossi, Serralunga d´Alba and Verduno. Most of the vineyards are located on steep south-facing slopes. More than 80% of production is in the historical core areas of Barolo, Castiglione Falletto, La Morra, Monforte and Serralunga. Until the mid-19th century, these wines were not fermented dry. The reason for this was that the Nebbiolo grape ripens very late, so that fermentation would have to take place in November and December, at a time when insufficient yeasts were available. This meant that a fairly high level of residual sugar remained in the wine. Giulietta Falletti (the Marquesa of Barolo) called in the French oenologist Louis Oudart to assist. He was the first to produce a dry wine on her estate around 1850 (he later provided similar assistance for Barbaresco). This marked the beginning of the unstoppable rise of Barolo.

The DOCG classification was awarded in 1980, this includes permission to use the names of single vineyards on the label. The most famous vineyard sites are Arborina, Arione, Cannubi, Cerequio, Brunate, Bussia, Fisaco, Francia, La Serra, Lazzarito, Monprivato, Ornato, Rocche, Sarmazza and Vigna Rionda. Barolo is made exclusively from the Nebbiolo grape (in the past, the addition of Barbera was permitted, but this is no longer the case), conditions fort his variety are ideal in the region. There are basically two types of soil in the area. In Barolo and La Morra limestone-rich marl predominates (called Tortonium here). These wines are a little milder, and mature more quickly. The second type of soil has a higher sandstone content, and is found in the communes of Castiglione Falleto, Monforte and Serralunga (called Helvetium here), this produces more intense wines that require longer maturation. However, all the wines exhibit certain similar characteristics. This includes a garnet colour, high levels of alcohol, tannin and acid, as well as a complex aroma that includes plums, roses, tar and liquorice.

The wine requires a long maturation period of up to ten years to tame the hard tannins. In this time the colour changes from ruby to brick red. The wine has an extremely long maturation potential – at least 25 years, and in many cases even longer. The cult status the wine enjoys is fully justified, the Italians describe it as „the king of wines and the wine of kings“. The minimum maturation period is three years (of which two years in oak barrels), and five years for Riserva. The minimum alcohol content is 13% vol. There is also a bitter variant known as Barolo Chinato, which has quinine bark and other herbs added to it, and is fortified to 16% vol alcohol content – this is also classified as DOCG. In recent years, a young generation of wine producers has started experimenting with new techniques of wine production. This includes reduced time on the skins, heating the mash, and maturation in barriques. Well-known producers include Altare, Ascheri, Azelia, Batasiolo, Borgogno, Brezza, Brovia, Cavallotto, Chiarlo, Aldo Conterno, Giovanni Conterno, Paolo Conterno, Damilano, Deltetto, Domenico Clerico, Erbaluna, Fontanafredda, Gaja, Giacosa Bruno, La Spinetta, Manzone, Marchesi di Barolo, Bartolo Mascarello, Guiseppe Mascarello, Massolino, Mauro Molino, Pira, Principiano, Prunotto, Ratti, Rinaldi, Sandrone, Lorenzo Scavino, Tenuta La Volta - Cabutto, Terre del Barolo, Vietti, Vigna Rionda, Gianni Voerzio and Roberto Voerzio. The best vintages in recent years have been: 1982, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 2000.