Winery of the Month – 2016 SEP
Marquis of Barolo
Our fable begins with a marriage. In 1807 the Marquis of Barolo Tancredi Falletti married Juliette Colbert de Maulevrier. She happened to be of French Noble blood and related to a famous minister of Finance. The couple had no heirs so upon their death the assets were donated to a charitable trust, the Opera Pia Barolo. Next door to this couple lived the Abbona family. This family had been making wines of some renown from the vineyards around the town of Barolo.
It took many years but by the late 1920’s the Abbona family had acquired the original cellars and vineyards of the Falletti estate. Not much has changed today. The cellar is still family owned and operated. The charitable foundation is still up and running as well. The Abbona family controls 430 acres of world heritage vineyards. 185 acres are owned with the remainder farmed by friends for over 30 years.
The winery makes a vast number of wines from some of the best vineyards in Piedmont. Barolo may be the best known but is far from the only choice. There are more DOCG (the supposed highest level) wines from Piedmont than any other Italian wine region. A plethora of grape varieties and wine styles are available. For reds you have; Barbera, Dolcetto, Ruche, Grignolino, and Sweet sparkly reds from Malvasia and Brachetto. Whites have; Arneis, Cortese, and sweet wines from Moscato. These are just a few of the options in maybe the best wine region in the world.
Marchesi di Barolo Gavi
White flowers with melon and pears come to mind when drinking this wine made from the Cortese grape. The wine is heavy bodied with a bright acidity and some spicy touches of ginger. Here is a great companion for most seafood dishes. Regularly $19.99 Sale $15.99
Marchesi di Barolo Barbera d’Alba Ruvei
Wines made from Barbera are medium bodied with light tannins. The wines from around the town of Alba tend to be a little bigger and more robust than their neighbors from Asti. Red cherry and raspberry are prevelant with a good deal of acidity to clean everything up. Regularly $19.99 Sale $15.99
Marchese di Barolo Dolcetto d’Alba Madonna del Dono
This is one of 7 Dolcetto focused appellations in Piedmont, but is considered the most notable, mainly because of the number of quality producers in the area. Light in tannins and acidity with lavender and lilac joining the dark cherry and blue berry fruit flavors to make this a very appealing wine. Regularly $21.99 Sale $16.99
Marchese di Barolo Barbaresco
Barresco’s are Nebiolo based wines that get over shadowed by Barolo. Barbaresco is situated on the right side of the Tanaro river and the climate is slightly warmer and more consistent than Barolo. A wonderful wine that displays all the hallmarks of Nebiolo. A nose of roses and tobacco with flavors of red berries and cinnamon. A light cedar note is in the background over top of firm Tannins. A great red ready to drink now or can be cellared for 5-10 years. Regularly $44.99 Sale $34.99
Along with these we will have some older vintage single vineyard Barolo bottles