Marchesi di Barolo, how the Barolo Riserva evolves

At Vinitaly one has the extraordinary opportunity to meet, in a reasonably short time, wine personalities known over the years who operate in territories far from home, even hundreds of kilometers away. And so I stopped by the stand of Marchesi di Barolo, a winery owned by the Abbona family located in the municipality of Barolo, which, as I have already had the chance to recount, I had the privilege of visiting a year ago.

Marchesi di Barolo is the winery where the history of Barolo was made. Once belonging to Giulia Vittorina Colbert de Maulévrier, Marchesa di Barolo, together with the French winemaker Luis Oudart and the young friend Camillo Benso, in the first half of the nineteenth century it effectively invented the formula for modern Barolo. The historic winery houses thousands of bottles of vintage Barolo, such as the Cannubi 1982 that I tasted on the occasion of my visit to the winery.

But what you absolutely cannot predict is that at Vinitaly wines like these might be accessible. Yet sometimes it happens, and this time I was fortunate enough to taste three vintages of Barolo Riserva, two of which date back to the 1980s.

The Barolo Riserva is produced only in the best vintages using grapes considered to be of superior quality. The grapes come from vineyards planted on marl soils, rich in clay and limestone. This type of soil, very compact and poorly permeable, forces the vine to root deeply in search of water. The result is loose clusters with small berries, yet rich in mineral salts and tannins capable of guaranteeing the wine, as we shall see, exceptional longevity.

The grapes, freshly harvested, arrive at the winery intact and are quickly and gently pressed and destemmed to extract only the finest and most aromatic fractions. Fermentation takes place at a controlled temperature above 28°C in temperature-conditioned tanks, with each batch of grapes vinified separately. Maceration on the skins lasts approximately 10 days, during which frequent pump-overs are carried out. In this way the must is enriched above all with tannins and mineral salts, as well as anthocyanins. Racking takes place once the sugar has been completely converted to alcohol.

Transferred to vitrified cement vats, the wine naturally undergoes malolactic fermentation in a short time. To enhance all its richness and allow the various components to blend perfectly together, the Barolo Riserva ages for three years in traditional large Slavonian oak casks, which help to balance it and increase the richness of its aromatic spectrum. It completes its refinement in bottle for several months and may only be released to market approximately six years after the harvest. And when tasted, as with two of the samples I describe, even over three decades later.

Barolo Riserva 2009

The 2009 vintage was distinguished by an initial vegetative delay and intense heat from the second half of August onward. The wine is characterized by a garnet color with ruby highlights, showing the typical transparency and brilliance of great Barolo. The nose is intense and complex, opening slowly with notes of ripe red fruit, blueberry and sour cherry, with florals in which the rose stands out. Spiced notes of cloves then follow. Then undergrowth, cocoa, with a finish of liquorice. On the palate, an imposing material structure is immediately apparent. The hard components clearly prevail over the soft ones, with the tannin markedly prominent and a lively fresh-savory component. The finish is long, again of liquorice. Traditional and austere as only a great Riserva can be, it is still very young with an indefinite potential for evolution.

Barolo Riserva 1985

A vintage considered exceptional, with great balance in the vegetative phases and in the distribution of rainfall. The wine presents itself with a garnet color characterized by beautiful transparency and a barely orange rim. The olfactory impact is of incredible intensity and breadth. It opens with tertiary notes of leather, then tobacco, toasted coffee notes, cinchona bark, cherry in spirits, and dried rose. A rich nose that changes in the glass as the minutes pass. Now earthy notes emerge, mushroom, undergrowth. It closes with a balsamic aroma and liquorice. On the palate it shows great vitality. The velvety softness and vibrant acidity balance each other admirably, with a silky tannin perfectly integrated into the body. It closes with a long mineral trail that lasts for minutes. A majestic wine of great character that, after more than three decades, has probably reached its peak. Honestly, it is impossible to predict for how many more lustres it can remain at these levels.

Barolo Riserva 1980

The vintage was balanced, characterized by a cool summer. The color is between garnet and orange, very similar to that of the previous sample. The nose is marked by notes that reveal advanced tertiarization. Earth, truffle, macerated leaves, black tea, goudron, and some very unusual marine notes. Then fruity recollections, bitter orange, with a mineral finish. A mature olfactory profile, perhaps somewhat static, bound to the passage of time. On the palate comes confirmation of what was perceived on the nose. Great softness, with tannins of the finest quality, but with an acidity that is no longer assertive. Medium length on the finish. A wine that has surpassed thirty-five years and that evokes a profound emotional suggestion.

The time has come to leave. I take a few photos, thank everyone warmly, and say my goodbyes. I leave with the conviction that Marchesi di Barolo will continue to create for us enthusiasts cultural moments similar to those I experienced, for a long time to come.