I have worked out most of the details of where we are going in Europe this summer. As part of our trip, we are staying 2 nights in a house near Novello in the southwest part of the Barolo appellation. Will arrive around lunchtime and will leave monday morning. So, we have Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday to taste and tour in Barolo.
So far, I have one appointment - late Sunday morning at La Strette which is within walking distance from our rental house. Looking for recommendations for 2 or 3 additional visits. Thinking of Elvio Cogno for one of those on Saturday afternoon since it is also less than a mile from our house.
I am a little overwhelmed by the number of wineries in Barolo and surprisingly, a large number of them seem to be available for appointments on Sunday. I do not have much experience drinking Piemonte wines so I can’t really rely on that to pick the remaining places.
So, I would welcome recommendations for a couple of places that have good wines and a nice visit experience. Thanks.
I’m surely not the most knowledgeable person here on Barolo, but my 2c:
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The best visit I had was at Renato Corino. He has a beautiful estate in the mountains of La Morra. It was an intimate visit and more about serving wine, charcuterie and cheese than a by-the-numbers tour of their winery and lesson on their methods. Renato himself came by about halfway through with a bunch of his friends – who had all been at a Barolo wine event (which was evident from their good mood) – and was very gracious and affable. We would’ve stayed longer and drunk more with him had we not been driving.
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The best wines we tasted, not that this will come as any kind of surprise, were at B. Mascarello, though the visit itself was pretty perfunctory. The advantage is (if you’re lucky) you can pick up a few bottles at prices well below typical retail prices. Alan is a nice guy.
Visits to Vajra and Borgogno were uninspiring and pretty commercial.
Weekends aren’t the easiest to schedule IIRC, but my favorites were:
Cavallotto; G Conterno; G Rinaldi; and Altare. Great people.
Either Cogno or Vajra had a very commercial experience (multiple sales reps hosting multiple tastings), but I can’t recall which. The wines were good at both though.
Love that you are looking at walking. Perhaps see if you can get Elvio Cogno in the Sunday afternoon, with a nice sunday meal and plot a walk through the vineyards to get to Cogno and then the short walk back. If the weather plays ball, it can be a memorable experience to walk around the area, through vineyards and woodland.
That then gives you the Saturday afternoon to take the car and see another village e.g. Monforte or Barolo. The latter is becoming more tourist focused every year - not to the degree of the big names of Italy, but the progression is noticeable over a number of years. Not somewhere to avoid, but nice to see Novello, somewhere like Monforte and also Barolo to give a sense of comparison. Out of choice I’d probably see Monforte on the Saturday afternoon, and have a sunday morning drive to see Barolo before leaving the car back in Novello to walk the rest of the day.
p.s. IRO walking, there is a cheap but very useful walking map that always seems to have good stock in the regional enoteca. About €7 from memory and I’d not think twice about buying it even for a half day walking, as it’s a nice thing to have anyway.
I can’t recommend Marchesi di Barolo - very tourist focused and for me they are trading on the historic reputation. I’d love them to lift their game, as they still have a place in our memories, but in the wines of decades before. Fratelli Barale would appeal to us in Barolo (but we’ve not visited).
In Monforte Broccardo are worth considering for good value, and they also make a Freisa
Thanks for the input. Definitely some interesting looking choices. Wish I had another day there.
Yes, it would allow for a little more of everything (we would typically aim for 5-7 days), but treat it as a taster/sighter visit, and get a chance to experience Novello and another village (or even two at a push) and you’ll know whether you want to return. I suspect the answer will be a resounding yes, but having sight of two different villages will help you decide which sort of village works best.