Marchesi di Barolo Nebbiolo

2014 Marchesi di Barolo “Sbriolo”, Nebbiolo, Langhe DOC $12/$48

Technical Details

• Appellation: Langhe DOC
• Soil: Limestone, Sand
• Varietals: 100% Nebbiolo

The color is ruby red, with medium intensity. The fragrance combines the fruity aromas of raspberries to those ethereal and spicy of violet and vanilla. The taste is dry, balanced with fine and elegant tannins.

Because of its structure combined with the freshness of youth, is the ideal companion for typical Langhe appetizers, pastas, roasted or stewed meats and medium-aged cheeses.

Terroir: Nebbiolo is a very eclectic grape variety. It is able to extract many trace elements from hills with calcareous and clayey soil that enrich its texture, while picks fragrant and fruity aromas from soils rich limestone and fine quartz sands. This union causes a wine of great harmony and completeness with a wide and immediate expression of the bouquet.

Vinification: The grapes, freshly picked, arrive in the cellar and are rapidly de-stemmed and gently pressed to extract from the skins and the outer part only the most noble and aromatic notes. Fermentation takes place at a controlled temperature, in thermo-conditioned tanks. Maceration lasts for about 8 days, during which the must is regularly and softly pumped over the grape dregs, to allow the juice to extract all the elements and the coloring material from the skins. The wine then is racked only when all the sugar is transformed into alcohol. The wine is then stored in stainless steel tanks or concrete tanks to preserve the freshness and the typical fragrant aromas.

About Marchesi di Barolo:

The Marchesi di Barolo estate encompasses approximately 430 acres of vineyards in the Langhe, some of the finest in Piedmont, including the prestigious Cannubi cru. The cellars are located in the village of Barolo, overlooking the Renaissance castle of the Marchesi Falletti di Barolo.

Barolo as we know it today was first made in the early 19th century by the Marchese Carlo Tancredi Falletti di Barolo and his wife, Giulia. The wine from their estate soon became known as “the wine from Barolo”, served at important diplomatic and royal functions. The Marchesi had no children and following the death of the couple, the Marchesi di Barolo dynasty was left without an heir. Per the wishes of Marchesa Giulia, a great philanthropist, the family assets were donated to charity and a non-profit foundation was created in their name, “Opera Pia Barolo”, helping the most needy of nearby Torino. The sales of wine from their Barolo vineyards continue to fund the charity, which still exists today. In 1929, local winemaker, Pietro Abbona purchased the cellars formerly owned by the Marchesi and eventually acquired all their vineyard holdings as well.

Today, Marchesi di Barolo remains a family business. Since 2006, the estate has been under the direction of Pietro’s great-grandson and fifth-generation winemaker, Ernesto Abbona and his wife Anna, who have inherited a longstanding winemaking tradition and a love of the vineyards and its wines.