Summary
Marchesi di Barolo is not just another address: the house in the centre of the village of Barolo stands exactly where Barolo as a wine style came into being. In the cellars of Marchesa Giulia Colbert Falletti, the first half of the 19th century turned a frequently sweetish Nebbiolo into a fully dry red aged in large oak casks – the blueprint for everything now called Barolo. After the Marchesa's death the estate passed to the Opera Pia Barolo foundation; in 1929 the Abbona family bought the historic cellars and has run them ever since. Today the estate farms around 200 hectares in the Langhe, the Roero and the Monferrato, and vinifies the Barolo crus Cannubi, Sarmassa and Coste di Rose.
History
The story begins with a Frenchwoman. Juliette Colbert de Maulévrier, born in the Vendée in 1785 and a descendant of the family of Louis XIV's famous finance minister, married the Marchese Carlo Tancredi Falletti di Barolo in 1806. In 1814 the couple moved to Turin, where Juliette became the Giulia of Palazzo Barolo. On the family's estates in the Langhe she recognised the potential of Nebbiolo – and had cellars built where the must could ferment out completely and the wine then age in large oak casks. What had often been a sweetish wine became the dry, tannic and long-lived red that soon made its career as the wine of the House of Savoy.
After her death in 1864 the childless Marchesa left her entire fortune – vineyards and cellars included – to the charitable foundation she had created, Opera Pia Barolo. The foundation kept the winemaking going until it withdrew from it in the 1920s.
In 1929 Pietro Abbona and his siblings Ernesto, Marina and Celestina bought the historic cellars. Pietro Abbona, later called the patriarch of Barolo, turned that inheritance into a professionally run winery with international customers; in 1933 the house was allowed to display the royal coat of arms as a supplier to the royal court. It has been in family hands without interruption ever since: today Ernesto Abbona and his wife Anna lead the estate, supported by their children Valentina and Davide. Ernesto Abbona has also been active beyond the winery, serving among other roles as president of the trade association Unione Italiana Vini.
Site & terroir
The estate sits at the heart of the Barolo zone, opposite the Falletti castle. All around lie the Langhe – a landscape of marl hills whose ridges twist into ever-changing aspects, allowing very different wines within a tiny area. The climate is continental: warm summers, wide day-night swings and long, often foggy autumns that gave Nebbiolo its name and allow it a very late, slow ripening.
The three single vineyards show these differences perfectly. Cannubi lies on the central ridge of the commune of Barolo, where two geological formations – Serravallian and Tortonian – meet; its calcareous clay and marl produce especially fragrant, harmonious wines. Sarmassa falls away to the south-east and is rooted in more compact Tortonian calcareous clay with a higher share of gravel and stones, giving structured, long-lived Barolo. Coste di Rose faces due east on an exceptionally steep slope; its sandier marl, rich in quartz sand and very fine silt, yields lighter, finely drawn wines. Vineyards in the Roero for Arneis and Nebbiolo and in the Monferrato around Nizza for Barbera complete the picture.
Style & philosophy
Marchesi di Barolo takes a deliberately classical approach. The Barolos age long in wood, mostly in large casks, and are released only after extended bottle age – the focus is on perfume, clarity and structure rather than oak spice. Expect the typical Nebbiolo aromas of rose, cherry, liquorice and tar, firm fine-grained tannins and a very long ageing potential. Alongside the crus there is a commune wine from the village of Barolo and a classic blend from several parcels.
The breadth of the range matters just as much: the house vinifies practically the entire Piedmontese repertoire, from Barbera d'Alba and Dolcetto d'Alba through Nebbiolo d'Alba and Barbaresco to dry whites from Arneis and Cortese. Then come the region's sweet specialities – an aromatic Moscato d'Asti well under 12 % abv and a red Brachetto d'Acqui. Under the Bric Amel name the estate also groups its projects on more sustainable farming and grape variety trials.
Famous vineyards & wines
- Barolo Cannubi – from arguably the most famous vineyard of the commune of Barolo, fragrant and harmonious
- Barolo Sarmassa – south-east facing, powerful and built for long ageing
- Barolo Coste di Rose – a steep east-facing site on sandier marl, light-footed and finely drawn
- Barolo del Comune di Barolo – the commune wine, a way into the house cru style
- Barbaresco – Nebbiolo from the second great Langhe appellation
- Barbera d'Alba and Dolcetto d'Alba – Piedmont's everyday reds
- Moscato d'Asti and Brachetto d'Acqui – sweet, low-alcohol classics
A visit is worth it above all for the historic cellar on Via Roma in Barolo: the "Botti della Marchesa", restored in 2002, still stand there, and a collection of old bottles documents the estate's vintages back to the late 19th century.
Awards
The wines have appeared reliably in the leading international guides and magazines for decades; the single vineyards Cannubi and Sarmassa regularly earn scores in the high 80s and low 90s, from Wine Spectator among others. More important than individual scores, though, is the historic role: hardly any other estate can tie its story so directly to the creation of one of the world's great wine categories. That the Marchesa's cellars are still working today makes Marchesi di Barolo a living piece of wine history – and a first stop for anyone who wants to understand where Barolo came from.