Top Italian Wines Roadshow: Barollo

The vast plain that stretches from Venice to Treviso is home to large vineyards, a territory that in recent years is standing out with top-notch companies and products. The credit for it also goes to Marco and Nicola Barollo’s winery, witness of a viticultural activity that spreads between the hills and the sea, while resisting Prosecco’s invasion and claiming a leading role in the regional viticultural scene. The two brothers have been able to take a little-known territory and bring it into the limelight in twenty years’ time. They have concentrated their production efforts above all on Bordeaux varieties, here interpreted with a style in which aromatic clarity and gustatory tension play a key role. "Our history is quite recent", says Marco, "the company was created in 2001, following our father’s hunch, who has always been working in the wine world. We had the opportunity to buy a winery in this territory characterized by peculiarities that intrigued us. Only a fifteen-minute drive away from Venice, the plain is close to the sea, but at the same time its climate is influenced by the cool breeze of the Dolomites, featuring great temperature ranges. The soil is saline, here there was once the sea. If we dig, we’ll find marine fossils at a depth of less than one meter".

Veneto is scattered with several major wine areas, and Barollo made its way and created a new one: "it was a gamble. Fifteen years ago, your guide talked about us as young people with great perspectives who were taking on this challenge; now you talk about Marco and Nicola Barollo who have provided the basis for a new wine territory in Veneto. We are glad, since it means that, in these twenty years, we have been doing it right. We have a long road ahead of us, there is always room for improvement".

The efficient production reveals a clean and refined style, relying on a fifty-hectare vineyard planted with international varieties. Cabernet Franc gives life to Frank!, one of range’s flagship that we could not taste this year because it was still resting in the cellar. "We focused on Cabernet Franc, because when we started the Bordeaux blend was very common and we didn’t want to plunge ourselves into confusion with other producers. We have therefore tried to stand out by focusing on Cabernet Franc. This was also a gamble, and once again everything worked out well" explains Marco. The house wines did not even miss the Tre Bicchieri in the Vini d’Italia 2022 guide. The award-winning wine was Chardonnay '18, a white made through slow aging in barriques. Today it offers up vibrant notes of yellow-fleshed fruit and spices that blend with a moderate presence of oak. In the mouth its full flavor is supported by an exquisite acidity.

"It was our first wine. We are first and foremost wine lovers, and we wanted to challenge ourselves with this common and high-quality grape variety. It is very adaptable, capable of perfectly conveying territorial characteristics. Here's yet another challenge: our Chardonnay requires the use of barriques, but we know very well that, in the last years, whites aged in wooden barrels have lost some of their charm for the final consumer. Our goal is therefore to create a fresh wine, in which oak barrels are only used to extra caress the palate". But what are the future plans? "Until now, we have dedicated ourselves to making good wines and selling them. In the near future, we will work on the hospitality sector by enlarging the winery. On the other hand, as far as the wine sector is concerned, we will release a 2020 Pinot Nero in January 2023, which is now resting in barriques, to be bottled in a few days".