Barolo (wine)
The Barolo is a dry red wine from the northern Italian region of Piedmont . It is named after the municipality of Barolo , which is located approx. 15 km south of Alba . Along with the Brunello di Montalcino and the Amarone della Valpolicella, it is one of the Italian red wines with the highest reputation.
history
The name Barolo appears as early as 1730 in an exchange of letters between English traders, the ambassador of the House of Savoy in London and the superintendents of Piedmont. At that time, however, it was a mostly sweet wine made from Nebbiolo grapes . Due to the late ripening of the Nebbiolo, fermentation took place in the cold winter months. The low temperatures in the wine cellars meant that alcoholic fermentation often came to a standstill and the resulting wine was not completely fermented.
Today's Barolo was created in the 19th century with the help of the French oenologist Louis Oudart. He was appointed by the Marchesa Giulia Falletti di Barolo around 1850 to the municipality of Barolo to give her advice on her winery there. In the cellar, Oudart relied on techniques from the cool Champagne , where this fermentation problem was known. Oudart relocated the fermentation process to newly constructed underground wine cellars, ensured constant temperatures and improved cellar hygiene. Oudart also supported the Count and later Prime Minister Camillo Benso di Cavour on his vineyard in Grinzane Cavour. On these wineries, the Barolo was created in today's sense, as a dry red wine. The new type of wine quickly found favor in Turin and soon became one of the favorite drinks in the Savoy family . The royal family also made the Fontanafredda hunting lodge in Serralunga d'Alba with its surrounding vineyards available for Oudart's cellar experiments. From this close connection between the ruling dynasty of that time and the Barolo, the saying wine of kings and king of wines probably comes from .
Although the history of the genesis of Barolo is mentioned very often in the literature, there are also deviating representations. Some historians report that Oudart moved to Piedmont at the instigation of Camilo Benso Cavour; in this context the given year figures differ slightly. Still other sources name the oenologist Paolo Francesco Staglieno as the main developer of the dry Barolo. He worked from 1836 to the 1840s both at Camilo Benso Cavour and at the royal winery in Pollenzo .
After numerous crises in viticulture, triggered by the phylloxera plague, the two world wars, fascist rule and finally the economically difficult times of the post-war years, in which massive rural exodus began, the Langhe was an impoverished region in the middle of the 20th century. Then in 1986 the methanol scandal shook the wine market and the annual production of the Barolo almost halved, from 7.26 million bottles (1985) to 3.71 million bottles (1986). From this low point, a Barolo boom developed, which was made possible by a newly awakened awareness of quality and several good vintages in a row.
In 1966 the Barolo received DOC and in 1980 DOCG status, which was updated in 2014.
Geography, soil and climate
The Barolo growing area is located in the Langhe landscape in the northern Italian region of Piedmont . The Langhe is bounded in the south by the foothills of the Ligurian Alps , in the west by the Tanaro river, in the east by the Bormida di Spigno river and in the north by Tanaro and the province of Asti . The name is derived from the Latin "lingua", tongue, and is a reference to the shape of this area, which consists of a long series of relatively steep hills, mostly running in a northeast direction. In earlier geological times, today's Piedmont was almost completely under the surface of an inland sea. The Langhe soils are characterized by this maritime origin as well as by layers of sediment (sandstone, clay) that were formed during the time when the area was raised by tectonic movements. Essential components are lime-rich marls in combination with various sandstones. The soil type of the western slopes between Barolo and La Morra is called Tortonium, the areas in the east near Monforte , Castiglione Falletto and Serralunga d'Alba are called Helvetium. It is assumed that the western areas around La Morra produce the more fragrant, lighter and more elegant wines, while the vineyards around Serralunga produce heavier wines with more substance and shelf life.
The Langhe has a temperate continental climate . A rainy spring is often followed by a warm and dry summer, which places high demands on the resistance of the Nebbiolo vine, but ensures rich berries. The solar radiation in this area is extremely intense, so that there are optimal conditions for photosynthesis .
The growing area
The vineyards of the municipalities of Barolo , Castiglione Falletto and Serralunga d'Alba are completely and those of the villages of La Morra , Monforte d'Alba , Roddi , Verduno , Cherasco , Diano d'Alba , Novello and Grinzane Cavour only partially in the Barolo DOCG area. The growing areas of Barolo, Castiglione Falletto, La Morra, Monforte d'Alba and Serralunga d'Alba account for more than 80 percent of production; on La Morra almost a third of the area under vines. These five parishes are generally considered to be the historic core of the zone. In 1909, the Alba Agriculture Commission added the vineyards in question from the localities of Grinzane Carvour, Verduno and Novello. In 1966, the municipalities of Diano d'Alba, Roddi and Cherasco were added to the production area when it was upgraded to the DOC region.
The Barolo DOCG vineyards are located between 170 and 540 meters above sea level.
The official layer map
There have been several attempts in the history of the Barolo to work out a location classification. Essentially, two influential historical sources are named, which have flowed into the current attempt to arrive at an official classification:
- As early as 1879, the agronomist Lorenzo Fantini published the first naming and classification of localities and individual locations with his work Monografia sulla Viticoltura ed Enologia nella Provincia di Cuneo .
- In 1976 the winemaker Renato Ratti published an influential site map, which for the first time provided a precise determination of first-class individual sites.
From the 1980s onwards, more and more vintners became self-employed and marketed their wine independently. Up until that time the market was dominated by the large trading houses. They bought the grapes from the winemakers, vinified them and finally sold the wine. It was customary at the time to blend the wines from the entire area with one another; Nevertheless, everyone involved did have a traditional knowledge of which sites produce the best wines. By 1990, numerous geographical wine names had been created, some of which were based on official cadastral names, names of the consortium or historical location names, but sometimes were just imaginary names. In order to master this increasingly confusing situation, the conservation consortium commissioned the communities in the growing area to draw up a list of the vineyard locations. Local agricultural commissions, which are mainly made up of winegrowers, compiled a directory for each municipality in which each location should have a unique name and should be clearly delimited by parcel. The experience of long-time residents, land register plans and numerous historical documents were incorporated into this work. The result is the “menzioni geografiche aggiuntive”, the additional geographical information that has been legally valid since the 2010 wine year within the DOCG regulations. These official location names say nothing about a possible qualitative potential, but are on an equal footing. So there is no official hierarchical order within the location name, as it exists in Burgundy , for example . Since many site names are of historical origin and there is traditional knowledge of the quality potential of individual vineyard sites, an “unofficial” hierarchy is still present and is also formed by the wine market and the prices to be achieved here. In everyday life, the word "Cru" has already established itself for the wines that bear this name. There are a total of 170 additional geographical indications that can be viewed on the website of the protection consortium. These differ legally from sub-zones, called Sottozona in Italian. For a Sottozona, the production regulations must be stricter than for the cultivation zone as a whole. (Compare Chianti or Valtellina ). There is the possibility of making the name of the location even more narrow by adding "vigna". For example Barolo Bussia (the additional geographical indication), Vigna Mondoca. Only in this case do stricter production regulations apply according to DOCG regulations.
Manufacturing
The Barolo, made 100% from the Nebbiolo grape, is characterized by its complexity in taste, as well as a relatively high alcohol, tannin and acid content, which gives it an extraordinary shelf life. Until the end of the 1980s, the Barolo was produced in a traditional way, which made the massive, sometimes rugged character of this wine particularly apparent. Essentially, these traditional methods consist of:
- a long maceration of up to two months , the longer it lasts, the more colorants, tannins and aromas from the berry skins, which can then pass into the wine,
- the practice of leaving part of the stems in the mash during fermentation, which also leads to an increase in the tannin content.
This was followed by slow malolactic fermentation and years of aging in large chestnut or oak barrels until the original severity was softened. A high tannin content gives the wine a great ability to age , but it can be very aggressive in young wines. In the last few decades there has been a global trend towards wines that can be drunk much earlier and that correspond to a more easily accessible taste profile. Through the use of modern oenological measures such as temperature control, the use of stainless steel containers (e.g. during alcoholic fermentation ), shorter maceration times and the removal of the combs and stalks before the berries are crushed, a more modern, probably also "cleaner" and "Softer" wine. The methods of winemaking differ so widely from producer to producer that only one tendency can be described here. For the example of the maceration time, this means: On average, depending on the wine philosophy of the respective winery, the cellar masters leave the must in contact with the berry skins and seeds for between 10 and 30 days. For some of their wines, however, individual winemakers extend this time to over two months and also do without temperature regulation.
The main production regulations
- Only Nebbiolo is permitted as a grape variety.
- The grapes may only come from the designated areas of the eleven municipalities mentioned above.
- The yield is limited to eight tons per hectare. The wine obtained from this must not exceed 70% of the grape weight after the prescribed ripening period (corresponds to 56 hl / ha).
- Storage time for Barolo 38 months, of which at least 18 in wooden barrels; for Barolo Riserva 62 months, of which at least 18 in wooden barrels.
description
(applies to both the Barolo and the Barolo Riserva )
- Color: garnet red
- Smell: intense and characteristic
- Taste: dry, full, harmonious
- Alcohol content at least 13% vol.
- Acidity: min 4.5 g / l
- Dry extract: min. 22 g / l
Controversy between traditionalists and modernists
The clashes between traditionalists and modernists, which caused a sensation in the barology field for a long time, are now widely regarded as having been overcome. Many oenological exaggerations on the one hand, as well as backward cellar techniques on the other, are now a thing of the past. In the 1970s, many sons of Barolo winemakers were drawn into the world, from where they returned with new ideas. They soon formed a group called "Barolo Boys" who introduced new oenological techniques in the viticulture of their homeland. Some of these changes were a more modern cellar hygiene, the use of barriques , modern fermentation techniques and the rigorous reduction of the harvest ("green harvest"). The use of barrique barrels, which is now in vogue, sparked fierce controversy. These replaced the usual large barrels (botti) , which after many years of use could cause unclean tones in wine. In addition, the new wood of the barriques gave the wine flavors reminiscent of vanilla, and the natural grape tannins were replaced by the tannins of the wood, which were perceived as softer. The formerly rustic, difficult to access, but perhaps also mysterious wines now often turned into those that were unnaturally dark, over-extracted and characterized by distinct wood spiciness. With this new style of wine, the Barolo was first perceived as a major player on the international wine market and sales prices were achieved that were previously considered astronomical. This "revolution" had an impact on the entire Italian wine world. On the other hand, there was a risk that the Barolo could lose its identity, which led to violent backlash within the winemakers.
Barolo in numbers
| Period or year |
Acreage (in hectares) |
Bottles (in millions) |
Hectoliters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | 688.96 | 4.34 | |
| 1970s | ø 1016.77 | ø 5.37 | |
| 1980s | ø 1203.31 | ø 6.18 | |
| 1990s | ø 1208.76 | ø 6.83 | |
| 2000s | ø 1665.98 | ø 9.78 | |
| 2010 | 1886.90 | 12.15 | |
| 2011 | 1906.11 | 13.02 | |
| 2012 | 1976.69 | 13.24 | |
| 2013 | 1984.17 | 13.90 | |
| 2014 | 2,067 | 95,561 | |
| 2015 | 2,073 | 106.063 | |
| 2016 | 1,748 | 95,071 | |
| 2017 | 104,709 |
literature
- Jancis Robinson : The Oxford Wine Lexicon . Hallwag, Gräfe and Unzer, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-8338-0691-5 .
- Burton Anderson: Italy's Wines 2004/05 . Hallwag, Gräfe and Unzer, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-7742-6365-5 .
- Jacques Orhon: Le nouveau guide des vins d'Italie . Les editions de l'homme, Montreal 2007, ISBN 978-2-7619-2437-5 .
See also
Web links
- Consorzio di Tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Dogliani (Italian, English)
- Representation of the individual layers
Individual evidence
- ^ Barolo, Atlas of Labels, Associazioni Vignaioli Piemontesi (ed.), Turin, 2000.
- ↑ http://www.wein-plus.eu/de/Oudart+Louis_3.0.6115.html
- ↑ a b Kerin O'Keefe: Barolo and Barbaresco - The King and Queen of Italian Wine University of California Press 2014 ISBN 978-0-520-27326-9
- ↑ a b c Disciplinare di Produzione della Denominazione di Origine Controllata (production regulations and description). (PDF) ismeamercati.it, November 27, 2017, accessed on June 28, 2018 (Italian).
- ↑ C. Petrini (ed.): Barolo Barbaresco . Slow Food Editore, Hallwag Verlag, Bern / Munich 2000, ISBN 3-7742-5275-0 .
- ^ Burton Anderson: Atlas of Italian Wines . Hallwag, Bern / Stuttgart 1990, ISBN 3-444-10372-7 .
- ↑ C. Petrini (ed.): Barolo Barbaresco . Slow Food Editore, Hallwag Verlag, Bern / Munich 2000, ISBN 3-7742-5275-0 .
- ↑ Map and list of growing areas on federdoc.com
- ↑ Carta del Barolo
- ^ Journal Merum 6/13, ISSN 1660-8062
- ↑ Official site map , PDF, on langhevini.it, accessed on August 25, 2015
- ^ Burton Anderson: Atlas of Italian Wines . Hallwag, Bern / Stuttgart 1990, ISBN 3-444-10372-7 .
- ^ A. Masnaghetti: Barolo MGA . Enogea, Monza 2015. ISBN 9788898254507
- ↑ Viticulture in figures 2015. (PDF) In: VQPRD d'Italia 2015. federdoc.com, accessed on June 5, 2019 (Italian).
- ↑ Viticulture in figures 2016. (PDF) In: VQPRD d'Italia 2016. federdoc.com, accessed on June 5, 2019 (Italian).
- ↑ Viticulture in figures 2017. (PDF) In: VQPRD d'Italia 2017. federdoc.com, accessed on June 5, 2019 (Italian).
- ↑ Viticulture in figures 2018. (PDF) In: VQPRD d'Italia 2018. federdoc.com, accessed on June 4, 2019 (Italian). The number of hectares was not reported.