Expansion of Barolo, Barbaresco and Alta Langa DOCGs

[John_Morris]

@Howard_Cooper

The question isn’t whether demand for Barolo and Barbaresco will decline. The question is whether people will be willing to pay Barolo and Barbaresco prices for production that has traditionally only been good enough to qualify as Nebbiolo d’Alba. Doubt there will be any new vineyards of the quality of Monfortino that will be added. Remember, the purpose of this is to double the prices for wines from land that traditionally has not been considered good enough to qualify as Barolo or Barbaresco.

Your earlier post seemed to be drawing an analogy to Champagne expanding only to have demand decline.

It’s a 1% increase a year in the Langhe, with a preference for contiguous vineyards already planted to nebbiolo. Much or most of those vines may be up to minimum Barolo/Barbaresco quality levels now. There’s already a lot of Langhe Nebbiolo that that’s very good, and most of it is made in a more approachable style – with shorter macerations, in particular. Treat it like full-fledged B and B, and it would likely be more “serious” wine.

[Howard_Cooper]

Did Champagne demand decline or did demand for lower-level Champagne grow by less than the increase in production? Again, I doubt that any of the increased production was going into CdC or Dom Perignon.

Enjoy paying double the price for Nebbiolo d’Alba with a new label on it. Reclassifications are rarely good for customers, whether in Burgundy or in Barolo. Generally just means raise the price. Doesn’t matter that much to me. I don’t buy that much Barolo or Barbaresco anyway.

[John_Morris]

@Howard_Cooper

Did Champagne demand decline or did demand for lower-level Champagne grow by less than the increase in production? Again, I doubt that any of the increased production was going into CdC or Dom Perignon.

Enjoy paying double the price for Nebbiolo d’Alba with a new label on it. Reclassifications are rarely good for customers, whether in Burgundy or in Barolo. Generally just means raise the price. Doesn’t matter that much to me. I don’t buy that much Barolo or Barbaresco anyway.

I believe Champagne sales declined in the late 2010s, then were hammered in 2020, as there was less partying. They hit a new record in 2022, but the trends were not looking good before Covid.

As I said above, most Langhe Nebbiolos now are made in a lighter style. I would guess that if the new sites are chosen carefully and the wines are made in the same way as B and B are, they won’t be inferior.