Shrouded in the fog that gives Nebbiolo its name, the rolling hillsides of Piemonte in northwestern Italy are legendary for their wines.  Barolo reigns supreme here, and the “King of Wines” has its noble roots in Fontanafredda Estate & Winery, whose founders literally coined the phrase.  Fontanafredda is steeped in history, but is evolving towards the future.  Their Barolo wines reflect modern sensibilities in taste and production values, but at its core, beats the heart of tradition, capturing its complex essence that is so hauntingly beautiful.

If you’ve ever tasted a wine that grips your imagination and colors your palate for the rest of your life, you’ve experienced an epiphany, a wine that makes you understand what all the hype is about.  Barolo is one of those wines, distinctive in its complex expression of the Nebbiolo grape, haunting your sense memory with its elegant floral and anise aromas and extreme structure.  Robust in its acidity, alcohol and tannins, it’s often described as “tar and roses”, with aromas and flavors that embrace raspberry, red cherry, roses, licorice, allspice, potpourri, truffles, and cocoa.  The pale garnet color that Barolo is known for can belie how intense the tannins can be, referred to as “mouth-drying”, and usually requires at least 10 years of aging to soften.  Barolo wines are different in their overall expression, depending on the soils that the fruit is grown on.  Sandy, limestone-rich soils yield more elegant wines, rich in color and aromas, with more red fruit flavors, fresh and ready to drink sooner.  Clay and marl soils produce powerful wines, capable of aging for decades, but require more time in the bottle to be approachable.

Fontanafredda Estate in Serralunga d'Alba, Courtesy of Fontanafredda

Fontanafredda is one of the largest wine producers in the Langhe region.  Their portfolio includes 43% red, 26% white, 28% sweet and 3% sparkling wines.  Their estate vineyards, centered in Serralunga d’Alba, encompass 247 acres, which provides only 20% of their production.  Over four hundred local wine grape growers supply the rest, and farm their vines in accordance with Fontanafredda’s sustainable focus, making them the largest certified organic winery in Piemonte.

Giorgio Lavagna, Chief Winemaker and Technical Director for Fontanafredda

Fontanafredda’s roots began as a love story, when Vittorio Emanuele II bought the estate as a gift for his mistress, Rosa Vercellana.  Their son, Count Emanuele Alberto, planted over 700 acres of vines, and, as the first king of Italy, made Barolo a legend, where the wine of kings became the “King of Wines”.  Success followed until phylloxera decimated the vineyards in 1928, and hard times hit the winery, which was sold in 1931.  Bank-owned for almost 80 years, Fontanafredda returned to Piemontese natives, who quickly reclaimed their crown.  In 2017, Fontanafredda was awarded European Winery of the Year by Wine Enthusiast.  Now with Giorgio Lavagna in place as Chief Winemaker and Technical Director, Fontanafredda is forging a new future, steeped in history but clearly embracing modern sensibilities, making their younger Barolos more approachable and ready to drink earlier, while seeking innovation and respecting sustainability for the future.

Fontanafredda among the rolling hills of the Langhe, Courtesy of Fontanafredda

Eleven villages make up the Barolo DOCG, but five of them produce the lion’s share of Barolo wines, thanks to their altitude and soils.  Each one has its own wine personality, but overall Barolos are robust and full-bodied, with high acidity and big tannins, and color is an indicator of age, ruby when young and a brick or orange color with time.  Each village has subzones with unique characteristics, the MGA (Menzione Geografica Aggiuntiva) is similar to the French “Cru” classification.  Fontanafredda is the only MGA named after an estate winery, located in Serralunga d’Alba, in essence a “monopole” of Barolo.  Within these MGA zones, single vineyards further define the wine; for Fontanafredda, Vigna La Rosa is their famous vineyard, which translates into floral wines with balanced acidity and graceful tannins.  DOCG rules mandate that Barolo is made of 100% Nebbiolo, with minimum aging requirements of 38 months, of which 18 must be in bottle.  Riservas need additional aging, over five years.

(L-R) Chief Winemaker Giorgio Lavagna and Export Manage Chiara Destefanis for Fontanafredda Estate Winery

It’s rare to have the opportunity to explore Barolo through the lens of time and place, but at a very special tasting luncheon at Spago Beverly Hills for wine professionals, Fontanafredda displayed an impressive range of Barolos that added to an appreciation of today’s wines.  Winemaker Giorgio Lavagna and his trusty translator, Export Manager Chiara Destefanis, conducted a tasting of seven wines alongside passed appetizers and a three course lunch.  It was interesting to compare these powerful wines, elegant versus robust, and what time and tradition brought to the glass.  These are my impressions of the wines tasted:

We started with a sparkling wine, the Contessa Rosa Rosé Alta Langa DOCG 2012, a blend of 80% Pinot Nero (Noir) and 20% Chardonnay, with a splash of Barolo 1967 liqueur d’expedition added to the second fermentation.  Wow, the aromatic freshness and touch of complexity, with notes of orange blossom, pomegranate, plum, ginger, nutmeg and basil, a savory, mineral wine.  This is always a vintage wine, spending 60 months on lees and 30 months in barrel.

Barolo Serralunga d’Alba DOCG 2015 -  a great vintage, powerful and balanced, a tannic backbone inside a velvety texture.  This is a more fruity Barolo, due to the vintage, with notes of vanilla, spice, withered roses and underbrush.  The first single village Barolo produced, back in 1988, the bottling is iconic, the striped design of the label reflects the design of the village buildings.

Barolo Fontanafredda DOCG 2013 - an MGA, this is the only one 100% owned by a single producer in the Barolo region.  An old style vintage because of cooler weather, more red berry fruits and violets, tight but silky tannins.  Meaty, concentrated, higher acidity, more mineral, and needs more time to be easily approachable.

Barolo Vigna La Rosa DOCG 2011 -  a single vineyard within the MGA, where skillful wine growing is required because of early harvest and low yields.  Deep garnet red, with an intense nose of ripe fruit and spice.  Dense tannins, explosive palate from velvet to fruit, with a long persistent finish.  Elegant, balanced acidity, sweet and round due to a riper year, ready to drink.

Barolo Vigna La Rosa DOCG 1996 - aged bouquet of ripe plums, tobacco, licorice, dried mushrooms, nutmeg and white pepper.  Dense tannins weave together softness and balance.  This is considered a perfect vintage with 20-30 years of life for the wine, a rare occurrence in Piemonte.

Barolo Riserva 2010 - a modern style, intense color and aromas of black cherry, tobacco, dried mushrooms, nutmeg, pepper, and balsamic notes.  Rich and concentrated, with sweet velvety tannins accented by a fresh sour note.  Only made in the best vintages, with the best grapes. Enjoyable right now but won’t last decades.

Barolo Riserva 2000 - ripe fruit and spice, with ripe tannins on a smooth and persistent finish, gets better and better with more time in the glass.

Barolo is designed to accompany food, at which Spago excelled with their choices.  Best food pairings are beef, veal, pasta, risotto, charcuterie and egg dishes, with white truffles of course!  But seriously, Barolo pairs well with a wide range of food, they just need decanting time for their full beauty to blossom.  These wines are available in wine shops, retail prices run from $54 to $165, but the older vintages are not available for purchase.

Over the past 30 years, Barolo has evolved, from a high acid/high tannin wine that needs at least 10 years of aging, to a softer, fruitier wine that is more approachable at a younger age.  Fontanafredda is the bridge between the old and the new, and offers a time capsule from the past to the future.  As a wine of structure and aromatic complexity, Barolo will imprint itself on your sense memory, hauntingly beautiful and forever unforgettable.