5 Days in Barolo: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

This year was Linda’s turn to plan our vacation, so she picked the lake district of Northern Italy – lakes Maggiore, Como and Garda. Since these are fairly near the Barolo are, I tacked on a 5-day visit to the Barolo area. We actually planned to do this in 2020, but we all know what happened that year – northern Italy was a COVID-19 hotspot in May.

Here are my impressions of the wines we tried. I can’t give detailed tasting notes since I have no sense of smell, but I’ll give a general impression of the wines.

The Ugly

There was no ugly, except maybe for the narrow country roads and crazy Italian drivers We got lost several times on the way to wineries.

The other ‘ugly’ is the prices. I love Giacomo Conterno’s Barolo Monfortino. I remember buying the ‘70, ‘74 and ‘79 Monfortino for somewhere around $30US in the late 1980s to early 1990s. I saw the 2015 for €1350 and the 2014 for €1280 in a wine store in Stresa, and the 1990 was €2100!

The Bad

The bad news was that most of the top producers we wanted to see were trade only, so we weren’t able to visit Giacomo Conterno, Aldo Conterno, Bruno Giacosa‚ or Roberto Voerzio. If you want to visit them, try booking through an importer or large retailer. Note that almost all wineries in this area require advanced booking.

Bartolo Mascarello was willing to provide tastings, but were fully booked for the rest of the year (I think the ‘year’ ends Jun 30). Giuseppe Mascarello did offer us a tasting, but it was at a time when we had already booked a tasting at another winery.

Another disappointment was the Enoteca Regionale Del Barbaresco. We were hoping to learn more about Barbaresco, which I’ve never really investigated, but the staff wasn’t very helpful – they just gave us four Barbarescos to taste, with no explanation of what to look for; contrast this with the Barolo equivalent below!

The final disappointment was the Barolo museum in the town of Barolo. It’s mostly an art installation with nothing much to do with Barolo, and a set of pictures describing the history of wine.

The Good

Agriturismo Marcarini

Marcarini has always been my favourite “affordable Barolo” – good wine at relatively affordable prices, so when I found that they had an agriturismo – essentially a vineyard with a B&B, run by the Marcarini family – we had to stay there. They provide nice rooms, breakfast every day, and occasionally dinner. We opted for their four course dinner with matching Marcarini wines, which was designed and cooked specially for us by Chiara Marcarini, who runs the agriturismo.

• Vitello tonnato with 2023 Marcarini Roero Arneis: Roero is an area just north of Barolo and Arneis is a white grape. I’ve had Bruno Giacosa’s Roero Arneis before but we tried a number of different ones on this trip. Marcarini’s is a clean, refreshing wine with good acidity. We each had a glass with dinner, a bottle in our rooms while staying there and two more bottles that we drank on the rest of our trip.
  
• Tajarin (a very narrow tagliatelli popular in Piedmont) with parsley and hazelnut pesto was accompanied by 2022 Marcarini Dolcetto d’Alba “Fontanazza”: an easy drinking light red with a little tannin and moderate fruit, it went well with the pasta.
  
• Osso buco with 2020 Marcarini Barolo Del Commune De La Morra: an earlier-maturing version of their Barolo, a blend of various plots in La Morra. Lovely with the osso buco, soft tannins, rich tasting, very smooth, remarkably easy drinking for a four-year-old Barolo.
  
• Dessert wine (I forget what the dessert was) – NV Marcarini Barolo Chinato: a digestive and dessert wine made from Barolo wine, sugar, Cinchona bark (quinine) and assorted herbs. It tasted sweet, with hints of cherries and oranges, Very tasty. Sort of like a sweet red vermouth. We brought a bottle home with us. (We are only allowed to bring back 2 bottles apiece duty-free, and after that, it approaches 100% duty, so it limits how much we can take home with us – and shipping it home is even worse.)

Enoteca Regionale Del Barolo

In the town of Barolo. An enoteca is a “wine library”, where multiple producers wines are available for tasting. It may or may not sell wines by the bottle. Some wine shops call themselves enotecas. This is in or beside the basement of the Barolo museum, which is in the Falletti castle (every wine town seems to have a Falletti castle).

This was very interesting, Either because we were the first ones there after lunch, or because I made it clear I knew a fair bit about Barolo, or because we got lucky, the attendant spent quite a bit of time with us.

They had 120 or more Barolos from lesser known producers – the well known ones don’t need the publicity – of which 40 to 50 were on a wine dispensing machine. He gave us a comparative tasting of “pre-global-warming” wines (he said that 2015 was the last) vs wines affected by global Warming (2016+). The style has changed to be riper and easier drinking young. He then showed a map of the Barolo area, highlighting the clay vs sandy soils and let us taste examples of each to see the difference (we preferred the clay). In all we tasted 8 or 9 Barolos. It’s not free, but it’s reasonably priced. Very informative. I recommend a visit if you can.

Massolino (Vigna Rionda)

This was a very interesting presentation. The winery is high on a hill in Serralunga d’Alba The guide took us out to their terrace overlooking a major portion of the Barolo vineyards. She laid down a 3-D map of the vineyards (fairly common at the wineries) oriented north and south, and then started pointing out the various vineyards on the map in real life (luckily it wasn’t raining). She’d say “that hillside has the X, Y and Z vineyards, and V and W are just over the ridge you can see there”. It really brought the topography to life. This was followed by a tour of the winery, parts of which are under the town square, and a tasting:

• 2022 Massolini Riesling Langhe: intense flavour, high acidity, slight honeyed sweetness, slightly bitter finish
  
• 2022 Chardonnay Langhe: nice roundness, good acidity, slight sweetness from oak
  
• 2023 Docetto d’Alba: verg9ng on bright pink, light, a little tannin
  
• 2023 Barbera d’Alba: soft, fruity, good acidity, a good ‘spaghetti wine’
  
• 2023 Barbera d’Alba Gisep: smooth, some tannins, could use more time, but OK for a steak
  
• 2022 Langhe Nebbiolo: smooth, fruity, light tannins, 100% Nebbiolo made from young vines or vineyards just outside Barolo
  
• 2021 Barbaresco: smooth, powerful, tannic
  
• 2021 Barbaresco Albesani: more tannic than previous wine, but more integrated, almost ready to drink
  
• 2020 Barolo: soft, silky, slightly sweet, light tannins
  
• 2020 Barolo Margheria: lovely, smooth, juicy, slightly heavier tannin than previous
  
• 2017 Barolo Vigna Rionda Riserva: the flagship Barolo. More tannic than the previous, but not too much, smooth, cherry fruit, good concentration

Note that some of these wines, including the Vigna Rionda, were left over from a recent critic’s visit and aren’t normally part of the regular tasting.

Elio Grasso

A producer I’m not very familiar with, but it was given good ratings in a book on Barolo (2024 Barolo & Barbaresco by Benjamin Lewis, MW). We got a tour of the winery and a nice tasting. The wines were all very impressive:

• 2023 Dolcetto d’Alba: soft, easy drinking, very nice, well made, slightly sweet impression of cherry juice
• 2023 Langhe Nebbiolo: very light colour, but flavourful, fruit juice impression
• 2021 Barbera d’Alba Vigna Martina: very dark red, slightly sweet impression (oak), fairly tannic, very nice
• 2020 Barolo Gavarini Chiniera: young, fruity, tannic, needs time
• 2020 Barolo Ginestra Casa Matè: more fruit, more tannin, yet oddly seems more drinkable than previous, very nice
• 2016 Barolo Riserva Rüncot: Their top Barolo. Lovely, smooth, will improve with time

They did not have any wine to sell at the winery, since it had all gone to restaurants and retailers, but we did eventually find some at a store in Stresa on Lake Maggiore later in the trip.

Silvio Grasso

Another winery I’m not very familiar with, but it turned out to be another contender for “favourite affordable Barolo”. All the wines were quite good, and their top Barolo was only €37 at the winery.

• 2023 Langhe Dolcetto: smooth, slightly sweet impression a touch of tannin., very drinkable
• 2023 Barberra d’Alba: soft, smooth, a little tannin, easy drinking
• 2023 Barberra d’Alba “Fontanile”: quite a dark colour, much richer, smooth, some tannin, delicious. We bought a bottle to take home.
• 2023 Langhe Nebbiolo: light red colour, light taste, moderate tannin, not for aging
• 2020 Barolo “Turnè”: traditional blend. Round, more concentrated than the previous wine, moderate tannin
• 2020 Barolo “Bricco Manzoni”: a ‘modern Barolo’, medium-light colour, smooth, medium-light tannin, quite drinkable, very pleasant
• 2020 Barolo “Bricco Luciani”: medium red colour, more tannin, acid, bigger structure
• 2020 Barolo “Annunziata Vigna Plicotti”: medium red colour, more intense flavour than the previous wine, sweet fruit, more tannin, delicious. Another bottle to take home.

Marcarini

This was a tasting at the winery, free with our stay at the agriturismo.

• 2022 Barbera d’Alba “Ciabot Camerano”: dark red colour, young, smooth, little tannin, good acidity, cherry fruit
  
• 2022 Langhe Nebbiolo “Lasarin”: made from young vines (up to 15 years), fruity, moderate tannin (typical of 2022 – 2023 is said to be softer)
  
• 2020 Barolo Del Commune Di La Morra: 50% Brunate vyd, 50% La Serra vyd, soft tannins, rich tasting, very smooth, remarkably easy drinking for a four-year-old Barolo
  
• 2020 Barolo La Serra: fruity, a little tannin, not strong, but pleasant
  
• 2019 Barolo Brunate: lovely, not too tannic, strong fruit, slightly bitter finish, lovely
  
• NV Barolo Chinato: sweet, has quinine, sugar, herbs, delicious

Vietti

• 2021 Barbera d’Alba Vigna Scarrone: deep red-purple colour, moderate tannins (all from new oak), some fruit. The staff at Marcarini advised us to ask to taste the Vigna Vecchia (old vines) Scarrone – alas it was sold out – but I did manage to find a bottle at the wine store in Stresa. I haven't tasted it yet, though.
• 2021 Barbera d’Asti La Crena: dark red-purple colour, less tannic, less stuffing the the previous wine, easier drinking, needs a little time
• 2021 Nebbiolo Langhe Perbacco: medium red-pink colour, a little drying tannin, good fruit, smooth but tannic
• 2020 Barolo Castiglione: (from vineyards all over the Barolo area) tannic, a little fruit
• 2020 Barbaresco Roncaglie: moderate tannins, a little drying, fruity, fairly open
• 2020 Barolo Brunate: light-medium red colour, soft, light tannins, drinkable now
• 2020 Barolo Rocche di Castiglione: slightly darker colour than the Brunate, more tannin, needs time
• 2023 Vietti Roero Arneis: Not included in the tasting, but bought there and tasted later on the trip: much more complex and [to me] interesting than the Marcarini Roero Arneis. I preferred the Vietti, Linda preferred the lighter, more refreshing Marcarini.

La Cambusa Wine Shop, Stresa, Lake Maggiore

We stumbled on this wine shop in Stresa in the lake district which has an excellent selection of mostly Piedmont wines, including all the big names that we weren’t able to visit, and a couple of wines we wanted that were sold out at the wineries we vǐsited. They were very helpful and even opened a couple of bottles for us to taste (and sold us one of them).

Lessons Learned

Things I learned on this trip:

1. How good Roero Arneis can be – either the light, refreshing version (Marcarini) or the more serious complex version (Vietti)
2. How good Barbera d’Alba can be – generally fruity, low tannin (we were told the skins have no tannin, so any tannin comes from the barrel), easy drinking, but can have some complexity, too. We ended up bringing 5 bottles home with us (don’t tell the LCBO!).
3. Massolini, Elio Grasso and Silvio Grasso, all of whom I hadn’t tasted before, have some very good wines. Silvio Grasso’s are particularly good value.
4. Barolos post global-warming (2016+) tend to be earlier-drinking than pre-warming (up to 2015).
5. If you want to visit the top Barolo producers, you need to book through an importer or large retailer, and you still may not succeed.
6. When visiting Barolo producers, allow 2 hours per visit, and at least 45 minutes between visits, Make sure you have GPS (we used Google Maps).

[David M. Bueker]

Excellent notes.

Was that two tastings of the Marcarini wines?

Excellent notes.

Was that two tastings of the Marcarini wines?

Yes, sort of. One was part of a dinner with accompanying wines at the Marcarini agriturismo in Neviglie (where we were staying). The other was a full tour and tasting at the winery in La Morra. The latter is free for guests at the agriturismo,

Nice tales! Marcarini is also my fave "Value" Barolo producer, Im didn't know they had an agriturismo

It's so sad to me that wine tasting has become so tightly scheduled and costly. The 'wine experience' train has become global in a really short period of time. Just saying the term 'wine experiences' makes me cringe. I had two wonderful visits to Piedmont in the 2000s and was able to get visits booked the next day and with a wide range of wineries. The owner of the accommodation we stayed at seemed to know almost everyone. No need for booking weeks or months ahead, no tasting fees, with the ability to meet with the actual owners/winemakers, ask them multiple crazy questions, and get to know them a bit. Tasting rooms were a way for potential customers to assess the new vintage of their wines, not simply to be a profit centre.

I know Piedmont is more 'hip' today, and the prices have significantly increased, as they have everywhere, but it's still a shame that every fricking wine region is turning into the same type of 'wine experience' - all the wineries festooned on all the social media even seem to look the same! Thanks Napa!

Sorry, rant over.

Nice report, Ted. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Riesling is a very underrated white in the Piemonte, And it's hard to beat Arneis. Did you try any Timorasso.... my favorite of the white grapes.
Tom