Barolo map

Certain wines; he uses only barriques (new and used) to age his Sarmassa and Torriglione Barolos, while for most of his other Barolos, he uses a combination of used barrique and 15 or 20 hectoliter casks.Regardless of the maturation of the various Roberto Voerzio Barolos, each wine offers outstanding complexity and richness on the palate. They offer superb sense of place, so they are ideal examples of La Morra Barolo, but they definitely need time in the bottle before they display their finest characteristics. Whether you prefer his style or not, there is no doubting that a Roberto Voerzio Barolo is a significant wine, one that other producers look to for a reference point. - Top Barolos: La Serra, Cerequio, Rocche dell’Annunziata, Sarmassa, BrunateRenato Ratti winery, Annunziata, La MorraPhoto ©Tom HylandRenato Ratti - Renato Ratti was one of Barolo’s greatest vintners in the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s, both for the quality of his wines, as well as his work detailing the Barolo zone with a detailed map of the finest vineyards that is still today, more than 40 years later, recognized as a seminal work of Barolo classification. Ratti’s son Pietro took over the management of the winery after his father’s passing in 1988, and today the younger Ratti oversees one of the most modern wineries in all of the Barolo zone.The winery is located in the Annunziata district of La Morra; south of the town of La Morra, and situated at a lower elevation, Annunziata is home to Barolos that are, in Ratti’s words, “extremely elegant.” He produces three Barolos from here: Marcenasco, a blend of local vineyards, and two MGA, Conca and Rocche dell’Annunziata. Marcenasco, aged only in large casks, is the most approachable of the Ratti Barolos, while the Conca and Rocche dell’Annunziata are structured more the

There are 11 villages in the Langhe entitled to produce Barolo, but really only five of them are household names – and I’m only talking about those few households where Barolo is a regular drink! You can put these famous names on a spectrum that roughly goes from “elegant” to “structured”. Here it is:My plan is to tackle each of these villages in that order, starting today with the elegance of La Morra. Then I’ll finish this series with a round-up of all the remaining villages (and there are some biggies there, like Verduno and Novello, so don’t think you can just skip that one!). If you missed Part One, an overview, you can read it here. La Morra: The big picture.La Morra is a very important village! And not just because it’s charming to visit and has a number of top producers and vineyard sites. It’s also important because it produces a lot of wine! Look at any map of Barolo’s villages and you’ll see that La Morra is a giant blob taking over the entire northwest corner of the area. This blob produces around 25% of all Barolo.It’s also important for the kind of Barolo it produces: more elegant, less structured. That’s great if you like less tannic Barolo that you want to drink at a younger age. It’s also great as an ingredient for producers that like to blend from different sites – a dash of something lighter and elegant is just the thing for a wine that is otherwise brooding and tannic. Read on to find out the very important producer who does exactly that.Here's the La Morra Breakdown.Before we hit the details, here’s the key stuff that you really need to know about La Morra:Situated in the DOC’s northwest corner, La Morra is the biggest and most productive village in Barolo. Of the major villages, it produces the lightest, most aromatic, most elegant winesIts soils are Tortonian, with less limestone and more sand than the other villages, and also a good amount of clayIt has a high number of very famous and highly-rated Barolo sites, such as Brunate, Cerequio, and Rocche del’AnnunziataIt also has a high number of famous producers! Oddero, Altare, Voerzio, Ratti and Marcarini all call La Morra home.Ok, now we can break things down in more detail.How is La Morra situated?You might sense that La Morra is a special wine place when you realize that it’s organized a lot like Burgundy’s Cote d’Or. It’s a long slope that runs roughly north-south and faces east or southeast. This hill is pretty high, the highest of the Langhe’s many hills, but don’t go looking for mountain-top vineyards. Its peak is instead where you find

A little earlier than Barolo from other villages, but it’s still a good rule of thumb to wait about 10 years for top crus, and sometimes longer from the more structured vintages (2010, 2006). But the normale wines from La Morra are really good right out of the gates – one of the reasons I recommend Oddero’s. Shop Oddero in NY. Shop Oddero in SF. OK, see you next time, when I tackle the village of Barolo.Shop Barolo from La Morra in NY. Interested in learning more about the rest of Barolo? Read on.The Barolo Breakdown: Part 1Here we have an overview of everything you need to know about Barolo. The Barolo Breakdown, Part 3: BaroloWhy does this village bear the name Barolo? What makes Cannubi so special? Are all wines from the village of Barolo impossible to buy? The Barolo Breakdown, Part 4: Castiglione di FallettoWhy are all Castiglione wines so balanced? Where can I find the best Castiglione Barolo? How is the village laid out? The Barolo Breakdown, Part 5: Monforte d'AlbaIs Monforte just like Serralunga? What makes Monforte so diverse? Can I buy village level Monforte? READ MORE:Barbaresco & Barolo: Top 5 DifferencesThey are both made 100% from Nebbiolo grown in the Langhe. But Barolo and Barbaresco are clearly not the same wine.Dispatch: Bartolo Mascarello (Maria Theresa)Having the opportunity taste at Bartolo Mascarello was one of the great honors of my life. I have been in love with the wines since my first bottle of 1996 Barolo at Babbo for I think, my 26th birthday. At the time, without question, this was the most delicious wine that I had ever tasted.Alto Piemonte: Drilling DownIt is one of the most interesting wine regions in the world. We are fascinated by it, so we thought it would be helpful to take a look at the allNebbiolos that Alto Piemonte has to offer, taking each of the most important DOCs in turn.The Return of the Reasonable CellarMaintaining a wine cellar doesn’t have to be an extravagance. We cover everything you need to know in this blog post.

Vineyards at La Morra include Cerequio (small barn in center), Brunate (right of Cerequio) and La ... [+] Serra (top)Photo ©Tom HylandOf the eleven communes in the Barolo production zone, La Morra is the largest in terms of vineyards planted to Nebbiolo. There are 39 MGA (the name given to the delimited areas of production) and more than 60 Barolo producers in this commune. The list of the estates located here reads like a who’s who of Barolo producers, such as Roberto Voerzio, Renato Ratti, Rocche Costamagna, Poderi Oddero, Elio Altare and Mauro Molino, to name only a few. Then there are some of the most important vineyards in all of the Barolo zone that are located in La Morra, including Cerequio, Rocche dell’Annunziata and Brunate, each considered among the royalty of Barolo’s finest sites.The other important factor about Barolo from La Morra is the style. We tend to think of Barolo as a powerful wine that can age for more than 20 or 30 years from the finest vintages, and while this is true for every commune in the zone, the wines vary from one area to another. To experience the most rugged style, the wines with the most intense tannins when young, try a Barolo from Monforte d’Alba or Serralunga d’Alba. It’s not that these wines are undrinkable upon release, rather it’s that their profile is one that rewards at least a decade of aging to experience the best characteristics of these wines.La Morra, on the other hand, is known for its more elegant qualities, especially when the wines are released. Some of this is due to the soils found here, the younger ones of the Barolo zone known as Tortonian; these soils result in wines with more gentle tannins, as the roots of the vines do not

Have to go as deep as those in vineyards with older soils. These wines can be enjoyed sooner than a typical Barolo from Serralunga or Monforte (this is a generalization, of course, as this depends on the particular vineyard and producer; one vintner from La Morra will craft his Barolos to be more powerful, and needing more time than those of another vintner).A typical La Morra Barolo from a great site such as Brunate or La Serra, is a wine that can age for 15-25 years in the finest vintages, yet offers a more approachable style than many other examples of Barolo. Many of these wines also display more floral perfumes - roses, red poppies - than the more intense examples. It is this aromatic profile that make the Barolos from La Morra so inviting, wonderful choices for earlier consumption.Let’s look at some of the most famous Barolo producers in La Morra today, focusing on the top single vineyard wines they produce, as well as their production style.Roberto Voerzio, one of the most renowned producers of BaroloPhoto ©Tom HylandRoberto Voerzio - Roberto Voerzio began working in the vineyards in La Morra when he was 15, and today, 50 years later, he is respected as one of the most accomplished of all Barolo producers. He produces Barolo from several of this commune’s most famous vineyards, including Rocche dell’Annunziata, Cerequio and La Serra, and his trademark is tiny yields in the vineyards, as much as 50% less than the maximum yields allowed. This results in full-bodied wines of tremendous depth and complexity.While there are some that characterize Voerzio as a producer that crafts his Barolo in an international style, this is not true. He produces as many as six single vineyard Barolos in most vintages and the aging vessels are different for