Trying start a mini collection and looking for recommendations.
Why is Roagna Barolo Chinato expensive?
Marcarini is good and well priced in context of Chinatos
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I’m a fan of Vajra’s Chinato.
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Cappellano I believe was the first, and IMO the best.
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Rivetto is good and a decent QPR
second this
Cappellano and Schiavenza (you might have to order direct) are the only good ones I have had. Cappellano much more broadly available and great with some air.
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Each one has its own flavors. You have to try them all. If you can find the Bartolo Mascarello, that is special. Cappellano is the benchmark. All the fruit is from Gabutti. Vajra makes a good one too.
I have a page on Chinato which I need to update:
Because everything Roagna is expensive.
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I like all the chinatos I’ve had especially, Vergano and Cappellano. Alessi, though less expensive, isn’t as good as others. I’d buy if the store carried it and use for cocktails. I like all of Vergano’s production. The Luli is crazy good but it’s not a chinato, moscato based. I’ve yet to make a martini with Luli but should give a try soon.
I can thoroughly recommend a Negroni Chinato, easily made by replacing the Vermouth with Chinato.
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I once attended a Chinato and Persian food luncheon, it was most unusual. The differences between producers exist but are generally unimportant if one has a place for these nice drinks in one’s life.
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I generally dislike Conterno-Fantino’s wines, as they are too polished and modernist for my preference.
However, Conterno-Fantino’s vintage-designated Chinato Dr Perin is probably the most impressive Chinato I’ve tasted.
Borgogno makes an amazing Chinato, too.
Most of the Chinatos I’ve tasted have been delicious. Basically the only that has been only quite meh was Roberto Sarotto, and Marchesi di Barolo’s Chinato was rather average.
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Twenty years ago, I met Chiara Boschi at Borgogno, which her brothers then owned, and whose chinato had a strong reputation. She said that her brothers considered the recipe a state secret. They purchased their botanicals and other flavoring elements from multiple sources so no one would have a complete list of ingredients, she said, and bought some things they didn’t use just to mislead anyone who was tracking their purchases. 
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I like Cappellano, Roagna, Ceretto. Barolo Chinato is like port for me in that I really enjoy it but I rarely open a bottle.
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I’ve grown quite fond of this vermouth amaro, which for me scratches the same itch as chinato at a fraction of the price (under $25 for 500ml). It’s from Turin/Torino, so it has a very Piemontese sensibility.
From the producer’s website:
Vermouth Amaro Cocchi has been created according to the original recipe by Giulio Cocchi where wormwood was enriched with rhubarb, quassia wood, chiretta and a double infusion of cinchona bark.The addition of Barolo Chinato to the base wine gives delicately red nuances and a further soft and complex note – totally Cocchi style.
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I didn’t like it as much as Capellano or Vergano’s Chinato. Probably because I mistakenly thought it was a Chinato.