Barolo Wines: Articles on the Nebbiolo Red Wine Grape Varietal

Barolo Wine Recommendations: Best Barolos for the Money

IntoWine.com asked our panel of wine experts their recommendation for one Barolo wine worth seeking out (but which won't break the bank):

I love Barolo. If I could only have one wine in the world to drink, it would be Barolo. It is one wine I WOULD break the bank for. Still, there are some out there that are not too expensive that are worth it. Mauro Veglio makes a basic Barolo as well as some single vineyard cru bottlings. The basic Barolo can be found for around $30. It drinks well young but just a few years to 10 years of ageing in the cellar brings out wonderful complexities. The wine has wonderful aromas of cherries, tar and roses. Drinking the wine shows layered nuances of each of these, more so with age. If you are going to drink it right away, I would recommend decanting. The Barolos with a named vineyard on the labeling will cost closer to $50. I would absolutely recommend storing them away in a cool cellar for at least 5 even 10 years. Your patience will be rewarded. The 2004’s are on the shelves now and are wonderful. Any vintage in the last 12 years is great though with the lone exception of 2002. Look for a lot of sales in the first quarter of 2009. A string of great vintages with a slowing economy has put a lot of wine in the pipeline that needs to be moved. - Loren Sonkin is an IntoWine.com Featured Contributor and the Founder/Winemaker at Sonkin Cellars.

Barolo: Italy's Finest Vineyards and Greatest Vintages

by Loren Sonkin

This is the third installment of my three part series on Barolo. In part one we looked at the wine and its history, in part two we examined the modernist versus traditionalist debate, and in this part we will look more closely at some of the finest vineyards to be found anywhere in the world. Then we will also examine the extraordinary string of good and great vintages Piemonte has enjoyed and that are available on store shelves now.

Barolo Wine: Italy Tackles the Traditional vs Modern Production Debate

by Loren Sonkin

All over the world, in every winemaking area with at least 30 years of history, there is a squabble going on between traditional producers and modernists. As modern science has begun to understand some of the chemical reactions taking place in the creation of wine, some of the mystery has been removed. Universities all over the world (led in large part by the University of California at Davis) have become leaders in what many have termed the international style of wine.

Barolo: The “King of Wines” is still Italy’s Greatest Wine!

by Loren Sonkin

Writing these articles about both well-known and somewhat obscure Italian wines has been fun. Now, however, it is time to shift it into high gear and discuss perhaps Italy’s greatest wine - Barolo. If there were a competition for the best wine in the world, and each country got one entry, my pick for Italy would be to enter a Barolo. Preferably, an aged Barolo, from a great vintage, made by a traditional producer. I would be comfortable matching these wines up against the best from Bordeaux, Burgundy, Napa or anywhere else in the world. Starting with this article and over the next few articles, the wines of Barolo will be examined including the traditional versus modern debate among producers and the vineyards themselves.