Italian wine and grape guide : Barolo DOCG

Barolo is a red wine made with nebbiolo grapes grown in and around the town of Barolo, from which the wine takes its name, and another 11 communes that make up the wine producing region, located in the Langhe, near Alba in Piedmont, with the five most important and vocated areas being Barolo, La Morra, Castiglione Falletto, Serralunga d’Alba, and Monforte d’Alba.

The Barolo “disciplinare”, the regulation that specify the wine making process and lists the characteristics the wine should have, from alcohol content to yield, states that a Barolo wine not only must be 100% Nebbiolo grown in the area, but also aged for at least 38 months of which 18 in wooden barrels. Barolo wines can be labelled as “riserva” when the wine has been aged for at least 62 months, with a least 18 in wooden barrels. Barolo is only put aside and labelled as “Riserva” in great vintages and in poor vintages, good winemakers often bottled it as Nebbiolo. The exact ageing and type of barrel is left to the winemaker and varies considerably between vintages and wine makers.

Barolo, often referred as the king of Italian wines, was one of the first Italian wines to be granted the DOCG status and it is one of the most known and appreciated Italian wines.

Barolo is an elegant and full-bodied red wine, with high acidity and tannins and suited for long ageing, for the Barolo vintage chart see the Wine Spectator site.