Barolo Red Wine

"The wine of kings, the king of wines" Barolo Red Wine is made from the Nebbiolo grape variety. The grape clusters tend to be dark blue and greyish with a wax layer on the skin. Compared to the annual growth cycle of other grape varieties in the Piedmont region, the Nebbiolo is one of the first to bud and last varieties to ripen. Harvesting usually takes place in mid to late October.

According to the DOCG regulations, Barolo Red Wine must be composed of 100% Nebbiolo grapes. In the past, wine producers would blend other grapes varieties into Barolo, such as Barbera grapes. There are some who say that modern Barolo producers may be adding Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah as a blend, but there is no real proof.

Barolo Red Wines tend to be rich, deeply concentrated full bodied wines with pronounced tannins and acidity. The wines are almost always lightly colored varying from a ruby red color in their youth to a more brick and orange hue as they age. Barolo Red Wines are never opaque and they have the potential for a wide range aromas with tar and rose being very common. Other aromas associated with Barolos include chocolate, camphor, dried fruit, damsons, licorice, eucalyptus, leather, plum, mint, mulberries, spice, strawberries, tobacco, white truffles as well as dried and fresh herbs. The tannins of the Red Wine add texture and act to balance the moderate to high alcohol levels.

Within the different areas of the Barolo region, differences emerge in the styles of the Red Wines due to changes in soil type from one vineyard to the next. The areas with calcareous marl soils tend to produce softer, more aromatic and fruity wines that age relatively sooner than Barolos from other parts of the region. The less fertile, sandstone soils produce more intense, structured wines that need more time to mature. Vinyards located between the two valleys with overlapping soil types tend to produce wines with the elegance and aromatics of the calcareous marl soils and the structure of the sandstone soils.