Reading a Barolo label

A bottle of Barolo carries more information than you might think at first glance. If you know where to look, you can see straight away where the grapes come from, how long the wine has aged and how specific the vineyard is. Below we walk you through a label step by step.

An example: Scarzello Barolo Sarmassa Vigna Merenda 2019

We take a bottle from our own range: the Barolo Sarmassa Vigna Merenda by Scarzello. This one label shows almost everything a Barolo label can tell you.

• Scarzello: the producer, a family estate in the village of Barolo.
• Barolo DOCG: the appellation. 100% Nebbiolo from the defined Barolo area, aged for at least 38 months.
• Sarmassa: the MGA, an officially defined vineyard in the municipality of Barolo. At least 85% of the grapes come from here.
• Vigna Merenda: a specific plot within Sarmassa, subject to stricter rules on yield and ripeness.
• 2019: the vintage, the year of the harvest.

1. Barolo DOCG and the state seal

DOCG stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita, the highest Italian quality designation. Around the neck or over the cork of every bottle there is a numbered seal from the Italian state. That is how you recognise a genuine DOCG wine.

2. Riserva

If the label says Riserva, the wine has aged for at least 62 months instead of 38, and may only be released in the sixth year after the harvest. An example is the Barolo Margheria Riserva by Franco Boasso. A Riserva is usually only made in good years.

3. The vineyard name: MGA

The name of an MGA, such as Sarmassa, Margheria or Vigna Rionda, tells you where the grapes come from. There are 181 of them. An MGA is not a ranking: the name says where, not how good. Read more on our page about the Barolo MGA vineyards.

Eleven MGAs are the municipalities themselves. You recognise them by "del Comune di", as on Scarzello's Barolo del Comune di Barolo: the grapes then come from different vineyards within that one municipality.

4. Vigna

The word Vigna followed by a name points to an even smaller plot within the MGA. In Barolo, Vigna may only appear on the label together with the MGA. Stricter rules also apply: a maximum of 7.2 tonnes of grapes per hectare and at least 13% natural alcohol.

5. A fantasy name

Some producers give their Barolo a name of their own, such as Domenico Clerico's Aeroplanservaj. Such a name is not an MGA and officially says nothing about the origin within the area. It is the producer's choice, and often one of their most special wines.

6. No name

Does the label just say Barolo, without a vineyard name? Then it is often a blend of grapes from several vineyards or municipalities. That is the classic way of making Barolo, as it was done almost everywhere in the past. Such a Barolo can be every bit as good as a single-vineyard Barolo, and is often ready to drink sooner.

7. Vintage and alcohol

The vintage is always on the label. Because the weather varies greatly from year to year, it is an important clue to style and ageing potential. See our page on quality per vintage. The alcohol level of Barolo is always at least 13%, and in warm years often 14.5% or more.

Old bottles labelled DOC

Barolo became a DOC in 1966 and a DOCG in 1980. Do you come across an old 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. Curious about older vintages? Take a look at our older Barolo vintages.

Read more about the rules of Barolo on our page about Barolo DOCG.