BAROLO WARS
The Barolo Wars also left a major mark on the evolution of Barolo production.
In the early 1980s, a true revolution raged through the Langhe, a new generation of winemakers demanded modernization. The old generation worked in a way as they had for a hundred years and matured their beautiful wine in old large wooden “botte” (large wooden barrels) that sometimes had holes in them. Due to the lack of hygiene, the wine was fermented for a very long time. Under the leadership of Elio Eltare and after many visits to their French colleagues just across the border, the smaller French barriques were introduced in the Langhe, something that traditionalists turned their noses up at, but which made the international wine world extremely enthusiastic.
Thus it came to pass that the phenomenon of traditionalists and modernists was born within the Barolo world. In those first years of the Barolo Wars, things were so intense that these two groups did not wish each other the light of day. Something that is no longer an issue today. There are still modernists and traditionalists, but when it comes to wine making it is no longer as black and white as it used to be. For example, a large number of winemakers now work with both barrique and botte. They let the wine determine what it needs.
In the early 1980s, a true revolution raged through the Langhe, a new generation of winemakers demanded modernization. The old generation worked in a way as they had for a hundred years and matured their beautiful wine in old large wooden “botte” (large wooden barrels) that sometimes had holes in them. Due to the lack of hygiene, the wine was fermented for a very long time. Under the leadership of Elio Eltare and after many visits to their French colleagues just across the border, the smaller French barriques were introduced in the Langhe, something that traditionalists turned their noses up at, but which made the international wine world extremely enthusiastic.
Thus it came to pass that the phenomenon of traditionalists and modernists was born within the Barolo world. In those first years of the Barolo Wars, things were so intense that these two groups did not wish each other the light of day. Something that is no longer an issue today. There are still modernists and traditionalists, but when it comes to wine making it is no longer as black and white as it used to be. For example, a large number of winemakers now work with both barrique and botte. They let the wine determine what it needs.
In recent years there has been a bit of a trend towards large wooden barrels. After the extreme wood, vanilla and chocolate notes of the Barolos from the 1990s and the beginning of this century, people are now moving away from that a bit. The reasoning is that Barolo matured in (new) barrique is influenced too much by the wood and thus the identity of the Nebbiolo grape is pushed into the background. To prevent this, many winemakers return to the large botte or at least to used barriques that leave less of their mark on the wine.
Our personal preference also leans more towards Barolo, which gets its character purely from the grapes and the terroir. In these Barolos you can really taste the origin, they are honest and cannot be “upgraded” by a layer of vanilla. In these Barolos you taste the land, the soil, the sun and its location, with the grape as the binding factor, which has absorbed these flavors in seven months.