Like all wines, Barolo starts with the grape. In this case, it’s a small, light colored, highly tannic grape known as “Nebbiolo.” The DOCG, an Italian quality assurance label, requires that any wine labeled as Barolo be made from 100% nebbiolo grapes, which are native to the Piedmont region. The name nebbiolo comes from nebbia, the Italian word for fog. It’s believed that it got this name from either the cloudy white blooms that form on the grapes during harvest season, or the thick fog that envelops the Langhe regions where the grapes are grown.
Nebbiolo grapes are notoriously difficult to grow, and can often struggle to ripen. To aid them in this process, growers will usually plant them on south and southwest facing slopes where they can be exposed to more direct sunlight. The grapes are harvested in mid to late October, with the best vintages from Piedmont coming in years that experience dry weather in September and October. Nebbiolo grapes are known to grow better in clay and silt based soils located on certain hillsides (particularly the soil around the right bank of the Tanaro River where Barolo is located). Wines made from nebbiolo are very terroir expressive, picking up lots of soil and climate characteristics, and the resulting flavor can vary a lot. People usually describe the flavor of these wines as having hints of rose, tar, herbs, prunes, truffles, cherry, anise, and tobacco. They’re also known for their incredibly thick tannins that grip onto your tongue, similar to the sensation of tea that has been steeped for a long time. Visually, these wines show a light red color, the result of the pigments in the wine oxidizing quickly.
More than 90% of the world’s nebbiolo is grown in the Piedmont region, with the two most well known growing regions being Barolo and Barbaresco. Together, these two regions form a hilly area known as the Langhe. Outside of Piedmont, small amounts of nebbiolo are being grown in California, Washington, and Oregon, along with a few more producers in Argentina, Australia, and Chile. I’ve had some excellent nebbiolo wines from the California Central Coast, including those from Giornata in Paso Robles.
Of course, let’s get back on topic and talk about the most famous of all nebbiolo wines, Barolo. In addition to requiring that the grapes used in Barolo come from 100% nebbiolo grapes, the wines must also be aged for at least 38 months, and 18 months of that aging must occur in wooden barrels. Compared to its neighbor Barbaresco, which must be aged for at least 26 months with at least 9 months in wooden barrels, Barolo tends to be bolder, fuller bodied and more tannic. Younger wines from these regions that haven’t been aged for quite as much time are sold as “nebbiolo”. These grapes are also used in DOCG labeled wines from the nearby growing areas of Roero, Gattinara and Ghemme.
The best nebbiolo wines, like Barolo, are ideally suited for aging and take on more complex and appealing aromas and flavors over time. We’ll talk about those flavors in the next Barolo Basics article!
