Barolo
[2] Barolo is often described as having the aromas of tar and roses, and the wines are noted for their ability to age and usually take on a rust red tinge as they mature.
Fermenting wine sits on the grape skins for at least three weeks, extracting huge amounts of tannins, and is then aged in large, wooden casks for years.
[4] This was attributed to the fact that the nebbiolo grape ripens late in October, meaning that temperatures would be steadily dropping by harvest.
By November and December, temperatures in the Piedmont region would be cold enough to halt fermentation, leaving a significant amount of residual sugar in the wine.
Using techniques focusing on improving the hygiene of the cellar, Oudart was able to ferment the nebbiolo must completely dry, making the first modern Barolo.
He was the author of a winemaking manual, Istruzione intorno al miglior metodo di fare e conservare i vini in Piemonte, published in 1835.
[2] Oudart was a grape and wine merchant, not an oenologist, who in the early 1800s moved to Genoa and set up a winery, Maison Oudard et Bruché.
By the time Oudart turned up in Alba, King Carlo Alberto and Cavour were already following Staglieno's guidelines and both were producing dry wines.
By the 1980s, a wide range of single-vineyard bottlings was available, which led to a discussion among the region's producers about the prospect of developing a Cru classification for the area's vineyards.
A group of Barolo producers, led by the house of Ceretto, Paolo Cordero di Montezemolo, Elio Altare, and Renato Ratti, started making more modern, international styles of Barolos by using shorter periods for maceration (days as opposed to weeks) and fermentation (usually 48–72 hours or at most 8–10 days), less time ageing in new small oak barrels and an extended period of bottle ageing prior to release.
[9] Prior to this "modernist" movement, nebbiolo was often harvested slightly unripe and at high yields, which left the grapes with harsh green tannins that had not had time to fully polymerize.
To counter this change, some producers would blend in other grape varieties such as Arneis and Barbera to add colour, fruit or softness to the wine.
Rather than fall into one hardline camp or the other, many producers take a middle-ground approach that utilizes some modernist techniques along with traditional winemaking.
In general, the traditional approach to nebbiolo involves long maceration periods of 20 to 30 days and the use of older large botti-size barrels.
The modern approach to nebbiolo utilizes shorter maceration periods of 7 to 10 days and cooler fermentation temperatures between 28–30 °C (82–86 °F) that preserve fruit flavours and aromas.
Modern winemakers tend to favour smaller barrels of new oak that need only a couple of years to soften the tannic grip of the wines.
At harvest time, rains and downy mildew are two of the main hazards to worry about, along with early spring hail damage earlier in the growing season.
Planted with soils higher in sand, limestone, iron, phosphorus and potassium, the wines of Serralunga Valley tend to be austere and powerful and require significant ageing (at least 12–15 years) to develop.
The Central Valley to the west includes the communes of Barolo and La Morra with soils higher in clay, manganese and magnesium oxide.
[11] Since the late 19th century, efforts have been made to identify which vineyards in the Barolo zones produce the highest quality wine.
Led by prominent wine critic Luigi Veronelli, there was a push to have the vineyards of Barolo classified according to the quality of their produce.
Winemaker Renato Ratti conducted an extensive study of the soils, geography and produce of vineyards throughout the area and mapped out individual plots based on their quality potential.
The tannins of the wine add texture and serve to balance Barolo's moderate to high alcohol levels (Minimum 13% but most often above 15% ABV).
The bark from the South American cinchona tree is steeped in Barolo and then flavoured with a variety of ingredients, depending on the producer's unique recipe.
It remains to be seen if these sites will be able to adequately ripen nebbiolo enough to produce quality Barolo that justifies the high price of the wine.
[14] In Piedmont, the wines are often paired with meat dishes, heavy plates of pasta and rich risotti; the tannins bind to the food proteins and come across as softer.
