If there is one thing the proponents of Barolo agree on it is that it is one of, if not the greatest wine to come out of Italy. It certainly is a wine with breed and history. Made from the notoriously difficult to grow and late ripening Nebbiolo, the name of which is said to pertain to the fogs that are a common occurrence in the valley of the Tanaro river. As harvest comes late and potential alcohol rise high, the fermentation could struggle in the now cold cellars of Barolo. It was for this reason that much of it used to be sweet wine until the middle of the 19th century. So it could be argued that even traditionalists were modernists first.

Nebbiolo grows best in sites where the aspect to the sun is ideal, higher up the winding slopes the best sites are south and south-west facing and on the calcareous marl soils. At this latitude, more or less aligned with Bordeaux, the grapes do need all the help they can get but the slow, cool ripening process ensures a good balance of ripe fruit with fairly high acidity and a strong tannic backbone. The climate here is more continental in influence, being virtually surrounded by the Alps. (Piemonte actually means "at the foot of the mountain")

Five subzones are identified as the most important in this tiny area. Production is considerably less than the Cote d’Or Pinot Noir in Burgundy with which it is often compared. Barolo and La Morra produce relatively fruity wines on the calcareous marls of the Tortonian epoch. It gives the wines an earthy richness and they age comparably early. Serralunga d’Alba and Monforte d’Alba on the other hand are on Helvetian epoch soils and provide power and elegance giving considerable tannin and longevity to the wines. The fifth zone, known as Castiglione Falletto provides harmony, elegance and structure.

These are age-worthy wines where traditionalists argue that the wines should be virtually undrinkable in their youth in order to gain the complexity and grace in 20 or 30 years time. They will use extended macerations of the juice on the skins, sometimes in excess of 30 days as well as long periods of maturation in old, often Slavonian oak botti (casks). This is oxidative ageing giving the wine its characteristic orange rim when mature.

The so-called modernists will use much shorter periods of maceration, anywhere from 4 to 14 days in stainless steel and may use practices such as punching down or pumping over to ensure sufficient colour and extraction. Rotofermenters may also be used as well as pneumatic presses to ensure the bitter tannins are not extracted and the wine has a much more youthful fruit intensity. Long wood ageing is deemed less necessary. Smaller oak barriques are often used for this purpose and although it is fairly rare some producers are now experimenting with new and high toast oak. Many will only give it the minimum requirement of 12 months. It softens the tannins and gives a more approachable wine more quickly, that will still require considerable bottle ageing though, to gain its complexity and stature.

The differences between the two types, if you can be so black and white about this are largely down to the vinification process as vineyard practices are very similar. Low yields, long ripening periods are what both types of winemakers look for to ensure fully ripe grapes with mature tannins. September rains, often present, don’t pose a real problem as the late Italian autumn sun appears in October almost without fail to finish the grapes’ ripening process. If the weather does remain bad, rot becomes a problem.

Comparisons with Burgundy have been made to the extent of production, but the grape varieties also have a few things in common. The ability to age, the sometimes haunting, floral aromas, complexity, the notoriously difficult to grow grapes and the calcareous soils, broken up into subzones and even smaller crus or single vineyards. Only on the best sites the Nebbiolo will ripen, other varieties will often find their way into the Langhe DOC. Small growers abound and the average holding is small.

Barolo wines are full bodied wines with a deceptively light colour. The thin skins are responsible for this. Deep ruby and garnet colours are frowned upon by traditionalists who feel it might indicate a less than pure Barolo. With age Barolo takes on it’s haunting floral aroma of rose petals in particular, with candied fruit, plums and cherries. And lots of spice; cinnamon, vanilla, but also coffee, chocolate, tar and leather and sometimes hints of the local white truffle. Alcohol percentages are often in excess of 14%. It is powerful, complex and serious wine but whether traditionalist or modernist all agree the wine needs balance and age to show its truly great character.
 

This article was written in preparation for the unit 3 exams (light wines of the world), WSET Diploma.

Producers to look out for:

Fontanafredda

Elvio Cogno

Aldo Conterno

Batasiolo

Luciano Sandrone

The above mentioned are just a fraction of the quality producers in the region and this is by no means a complete listing, just that I have actually tasted their wines.

I should also mention Angelo Gaja as one of the producers high on my tasting wish-list.

Be prepared to shell out a considerable amount of money for these wines as they are sought after wines made in small quantities. Look for wines from neighbouring Barbaresco for a slightly less expensive version, although the best also command a pretty penny. Wines labelled Langhe may have some other varieties blended in but are generally more affordable wines made largely from Nebbiolo. The grape very occasionally pops up in Australia as well and is worth a try.