Barolo DOCG

A royal wine

Barolo is often described as the king of wines and the wine of kings. It is one of Italy's most prestigious red wines and the beating heart of the Langhe, the hills in the south of Piedmont.

The wine comes from the appellation of the same name around the village of Barolo. The landscape lies like an amphitheatre between the Alps to the north and west and the Apennines to the south. Together with the microclimate, that location creates ideal conditions for making world-class wines. Read more about the history of Barolo here.

One of Italy's finest wines

Together with Barbaresco and Brunello di Montalcino, Barolo is one of Italy's most prestigious wines, and internationally it is mentioned in the same breath as the top wines of Burgundy and Bordeaux. Piedmont is also special because the region focuses entirely on origin: there are no IGT wines, only DOC and DOCG wines.

Barolo in figures

• Grape: 100% Nebbiolo, without exception
• Area: about 7,000 hectares in eleven municipalities
• Vineyards: around 3,600 hectares, of which just under 2,300 hectares may produce Barolo
• Largest municipality: La Morra, with about 580 hectares of Barolo vineyards
• Smallest municipality: Cherasco, with about 3 hectares
• Production: around 100,000 hectolitres a year, good for about 14.5 million bottles
• MGAs: 181 officially defined vineyards

The eleven municipalities

Three municipalities lie entirely within the appellation: Barolo, Castiglione Falletto and Serralunga d'Alba. Of the other eight, only part is included: Monforte d'Alba, La Morra, Novello, Verduno, Roddi, Grinzane Cavour, Diano d'Alba and Cherasco. Read more about the differences on our page about the 11 Barolo villages.

The grape behind Barolo: Nebbiolo

Barolo is always made from 100% Nebbiolo. It is a demanding grape that is one of the first to bud and one of the last to be harvested. Outside northern Italy it rarely truly succeeds. In the Langhe, with warm days and cool nights, it shows its very best.

Several types of Nebbiolo grow in the Barolo vineyards. Lampia is the most widely planted and most stable, with larger bunches. Michet has compact bunches and a lower yield. Bolla is a selection once identified in Santa Maria near La Morra. Nebbiolo Rosé was long seen as a variant, but according to DNA research it is a separate, closely related grape. It is still permitted, but because of its low yield it is rarely planted any more.

Read all about the grape itself on our page about Nebbiolo.

The rules of Barolo DOCG

A wine may only call itself Barolo if it meets a long list of strict rules. There are only two types:

• Barolo: at least 38 months of ageing, at least 18 of them in wood. The wine may only be released from 1 January of the fourth year after the harvest.
• Barolo Riserva: at least 62 months of ageing, at least 18 of them in wood. The wine may only be released from 1 January of the sixth year after the harvest.

In the vineyard

• Hillsides only, no damp, flat or shaded valley floors
• Between 170 and 540 metres altitude
• New vineyards may not face north
• New plantings: at least 3,500 vines per hectare
• A maximum of 8 tonnes of grapes per hectare, good for 56 hectolitres of wine

In the cellar and the bottle

• At least 12.5% natural alcohol in the grapes and 13% in the bottle
• Winemaking, ageing and bottling take place within the Barolo area, apart from a few historic exceptions

MGA and Vigna

Many labels show not only Barolo but also the name of a vineyard, an MGA, sometimes followed by Vigna and the name of a plot. What exactly that means is explained on our page about the Barolo MGA vineyards.

What does your bottle say? In Reading a Barolo label we walk you through a label step by step.

From DOC to DOCG

Barolo became a DOC in 1966 and a DOCG in 1980, the highest Italian quality designation. Do you come across an older bottle labelled DOC or DOCG from a vintage before those dates? That is not a mistake: the rules also applied to wine that was still in the cellar at the time.

The rules have been amended many times since. The most recent amendment dates from the end of 2025 and was sent to the European Commission for approval in March 2026.

Barolo Chinato

A special outsider is Barolo Chinato: an aromatised wine based on Barolo, with cinchona bark and herbs. It is traditionally drunk after dinner or with dark chocolate. Only genuine Barolo may be used as the base.

Our Barolos

See all our Barolo wines. Not sure which one suits you? Have a look at our Barolo Buying Guide.