Marchesi di Barolo

It is here that more than 200 years ago a beautiful story began. The story of a wine cellar where, in the heart of the Langhe area and protected by gentle hills, a wine was born. This wine, as the French tradition suggests, was called Barolo like the town where it was produced for the first time. No one at that time could imagine that it was destined one day to be king: the King of Wines, the Wine of the Kings.

The story begins precisely in 1807, in Paris, when the Marquis of Barolo Carlo Tancredi Falletti married Juliette Colbert de Maulévrier, a French noblewoman and the great granddaughter of the Sun King’s well-known Minister of Finance. Juliette saw the great potential of the wine made in Barolo that, after a complete fermentation and a long aging in wood, would have been able to unveil all the qualities typical of the soil and of the grape variety: Nebbiolo, powerful and austere, able to last long and to express all the characteristics of this extraordinary terroir. In 1864, Juliette’s death marked the end of the prestigious Falletti dynasty: in order to perpetuate the Marquise’s memory and charitable work, the Opera Pia Barolo was founded and established in the beautiful Palazzo Barolo in Turin.

Thanks to his skill and tenacity, Pietro, together with his brother Ernesto and his sisters Marina and Celestina, was eventually able to acquire the Agenzia Tenuta Opera Pia Barolo: the ancient cellars of vinification and refinement of the Marchesi di Barolo estate. Thus Massimo Martinelli, in his book Barolo As I Know It, says: “Of the personages connected with the name Barolo, some may be considered of historic importance, real and true pioneers…[of these] people first place goes to Pietro Abbona, undisputed patriarch of Barolo…who, as an unquestionable stand-bearer, made the wine of his region known throughout the world. It was from his winery that Barolo made its first historic steps. His large wood casks (some of which one can still be admired today in the cellars in Barolo) were in fact part of the legacy of the Marquise Falletti. Commendatore Abbona inherited a longstanding tradition, a love of the vineyards, the wineries and wine itself, and he brought his label displaying the castles of Barolo and Serralunga to the furthest tables. And it is with pleasure that we recall this great contribution.”

Today the Abbona Family continues the work that began more than two centuries ago producing high quality wines meant to enrich, year after year, the history of this important cellar where modernity and tradition meet and where a great heritage of vineyards and knowledge has been passed down from parents to children for over five generations.

The village that gave its name to the “King of Wines” is located in Piedmont, in the heart of the Langhe hills: seabed emerged from the sea in different eras which have donated to our hills irregular shapes and profiles, with an original and exclusive composition of the soil. The name of Langhe derives from Celtic language and means “Strips of Land”.

Two sub-areas essentially characterize the area of production of Barolo: one on the East side, which dates back to the Helvetian era (about 14/16 million years ago), and the other on the West side, a bit younger, which dates back to the Tortorian era (about 7/11 million years ago). Barolo raises in the middle of these two sub-areas. Its name means “low-rise place” because, even though it is on the top of the hill overlooking the valley towards Alba, it is surrounded by highest hills that protect it from weather fronts and an extreme flow of air. Barolo and the Langhe in general are located in a very special area: protected by the Alps to the North, West and South and characterized by an environment with great biodiversity. The climate, therefore, is exceptionally favorable for viticulture: thanks to the continental cool-temperature and the well-defined seasons, grapes can bring out particularly fine and intense aromas.

Anna and Ernesto Abbona – the 5th generation – firmly believe in the original and distinguished wines produced in this region, characterized by a number of highly prestigious native vines and a unique soil composition, with amalgams of clay, limestone marl, blueish marl, tuff, sandstone and sand. In addition to the diversity of the soil, the Langhe are characterized by a rather particular micro-climate, more temperate than the neighbouring areas: the Alps protect against the cold north-western winds while the southern side is protected by the Apennines.

Temperature range is essential during harvest in order for the grapes to become intensely fragrant: the sudden change in temperature between day and night causes crystallization on the skins of the grapes, resulting in extraordinary scents and fragrances after vinification. The greatest merit, however, goes to the people who were able to deeply understand what nature has spontaneously offered.

Through its great, historical human experience, Marchesi di Barolo has been and still is a faithful exponent of the diversity of the land and its native vines, while rigorously respecting and preserving the typicality of its products. All this is achieved by using grapes that come from estate vineyards and from contributing vintners selected over the years, favouring optimum position and the ability to maintain individual vineyards.

Marchesi di Barolo controls approximately 120 hectares of vineyards and produces wines from the major indigenous varieties of Langhe, Roero and Monferrato.In order to better define and enhance their different characteristics, the most prestigious historical crus are made from a single variety, and individually aged and bottled.