2013 Madonna del Dono, Marchesi di Barolo, Piemonte, Italy, Dolcetto d'Alba

The Marchesi di Barolo historical cellars are located in the town of Barolo, in the building overlooking the Castle of the Marquis Falletti.

It is here that more than 200 years ago a beautiful story began. The story of a wine cellar where, in the heart of the Langhe area and protected by gentle hills, a wine was born.

No one at that time could imagine that it was destined one day to be king: the King of Wines, the Wine of the Kings.

Today the Abbona Family continues the work that began more than two centuries ago producing high quality wines. Modernity and tradition meet here in the cellar and where a great heritage of vineyards and knowledge has been passed down from parents to children for over five generations.

The grapes used to produce this wine come from vineyards located mainly in Madonna di Como, a small hamlet located a few km east of Alba at an altitude of about 400 meters.

These vineyards are characterized by mostly calcareous and mildly compact soil with a high percentage of quartzite sand layered, fine silt and compact sand stone stratums. This soil’s composition gives the vine a modest vigor and exalts the typical characteristics of the Dolcetto d’Alba grape.

Grapes are quickly brought to the cellar for destalking and soft pressing, to extract from the peel and the outer area of the grape only the most noble and aromatic fractions. To preserve the delicate fruity aroma, Dolcetto d’Alba is stored in cement vats or stainless steel tanks.