Top value Barolo 2018: 13 great picks

Barolo is dominated by pricey bottles but there’s still relative value to be found.

The wines below all come in at under £50/€60/$70 retail which, although isn’t exactly pocket money, is still a great proposition for Nebbiolo from one of Italy’s premier denominations.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for a selection of top value Barolo 2018 wines

In his 2018 vintage report, Aldo Fiordelli notes that ‘the Barolo 2018 vintage has produced some delicious, open-knit and approachable wines due to moderate acidity and ripe tannins, as well as good complexity displayed in the top examples. But mostly, it’s just very tasty!’

He does warn, however, that ‘village-level Barolo is of variable quality; many are excessively dilute.

The best wines show sweet tannins, concentration and a degree of elegance.’ This dilution, he explains, is the result of producers trying to make up for a shortfall in the drought-affected 2017 vintage by pushing yields further than perhaps they should have.

There are, of course, exceptions to this rule. Of Bera’s Barolo, he says: ‘Despite the brightness and the open-knit character, there is no lack of tension.’ And of Massolino’s Barolo, he says: ‘While at the village level in 2018 we seem to find more dilute wines, Massolino should be considered an exception because they produced just a village Barolo, a blend of all their MGAs, including Vigna Rionda.’

Aldo does, however, make the case that in general ‘Langhe Nebbiolo and Nebbiolo d’Alba 2019 or 2020 could be better picks than the village-level Barolo 2018s’.

As a result, almost all of the value picks below are MGA-level Barolo – Piedmont’s version of the Burgundian cru system.

Top-value Barolo 2018

95 points

• Luigi Pira, Margheria, Barolo (Serralunga d’Alba) – £44 / $68

94 points

• Massolino, Barolo – £33 / $39
• Mauro Molino, Gallinotto, Barolo – £45 / $50
• Brezza Sarmassa, Barolo – £46 / $70

93 points

• Monchiero, Rocche di Castiglione, Barolo (Castiglione Falletto) £39
• Schiavenza, Cerretta, Barolo (Serralunga d’Alba) – £41 / $69
• Marco Marengo, Brunate Barolo – £46

92 points

• Bera, Barolo – £37
• Elvio Cogno, Cascina Nuova, Barolo (Novello) – £39 / $49
• Poderi Luigi Einaudi, Bussia, Barolo (Monforte d’Alba) – £46

90 points

• Dosio, Serradenari, Barolo (La Morra) – £38
• Parusso Perarmando, Barolo (Monforte d’Alba) £39 / $52
• Renato Ratti, Marcenasco, Barolo (La Morra) £45 / $45

Prices were accurate at the time of publishing.

Aldo’s best value Barolo 2018 picks

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