Manzone Giovanni – Two Contrasting Barolo DOCG Cru

Manzone Giovanni – Two Contrasting Barolo DOCG Cru

Azienda Agricola Manzone Giovanni is in the heart of the Langhe hills, offering views overlooking the Barolo MGA¹ terroirs of Gramolere and Castelletto. It’s at the top of the Castelletto hill, at 400 metres, near Monforte d’Alba, and was established in 1925.

The Giovanni Manzone estate

Having been handed down through five family generations, 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the estate. This property spans 14.3 hectares in size, with 8.5 hectares dedicated to vineyards that produce approximately 50,000 bottles annually. There’s Nebbiolo (50% for Barolo and 5% for Langhe Nebbiolo), 15% Barbera, and 25% Dolcetto. The rare Rossese Bianco, which they saved from extinction, is their only white wine, occupying one hectare and accounting for 5% of their production.

It may be hard to imagine now, but when the winery began, Barolo was not the prestigious wine that it is today. Back then, Dolcetto ruled these hills and commanded a far higher price. Indeed, even into the sixties, this was an economically poor region. Many people had left to seek a better life in the cities and factories, in Italy and abroad. How times change!

But the Manzone family belong to this land.  They bought the first tractor in the area, a Lamborghini ² crawler with the caterpillar tracks necessary to navigate these stony, steep hillsides. Manzone were also one of the first places to bottle their wine, from 1961.

Wine making

Manzone Barolo wines are traditionally made, featuring low yields, long macerations on the skins, maturation in large old barrels and minimal sulphur. This regime didn’t alter when Barolo became lauded as a world-class wine in the eighties. A modern fashion for new oak barriques and extraction became adopted by some producers, but not here.  Their best vintages from the sixties and seventies are still singing their songs.

There are currently five Barolo wines, and they are all made in the same way. The Nebbiolo grapes are hand-picked in mid/late October. Then, natural fermentation on the skins lasts 30-40 days, with soft pumping over to break up the cap of skins. After about thirty months of maturation in old, large, inert barrels, they are blended and undergo a few months’ rest in concrete tanks. Then the wine is bottled without fining or filtering on a waning moon.

Sustainability

Manzone is now part of The Green Experience. This is a network of over 100 producers from the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato areas, farming more than 900 hectares of vineyards. Operated by Coldiretti, the farmers’ union, the purpose is to encourage and certify sustainable and organic production.

Manzone uses only organic fertiliser, grows grasses and herbs between the vine rows, and never employs herbicides, pesticides or chemicals. Apart from a tractor, all the vineyard work is manual. Bats and Bees are particularly encouraged here, with boxes and hives, while solar energy has powered the winery since 2012.

The two wines

Time to compare two of the Barolo wines. These are Bricat (from the Gramolere MGA) and Castelletto (from the Castelletto MGA). Both are made in the same way, so their differences are down to terroir, the vine stock and contrasting vintages (2019 and 2020).

Comparatively speaking, at 5 and 6 years old, these are still young wines that are not yet at their peak. Hence, each was decanted for two hours before serving to open them up. Neither has yet thrown any sediment.

Barolo DOCG,  Bricat,  2019.  14%

Bricat is a one-hectare single vineyard in the southern lower part of Gramolere MGA, at 350 metres, producing 4-5,000 bottles pa. The vines exceed 50 years of age and are the estate’s oldest.

In addition, 15-20% of the vines are the ancient Nebbiolo Rosé variety. A related but separate grape variety from Nebbiolo, it produces a very pale but highly aromatic wine with great finesse. In Barolo generally, Nebbiolo clones that make deeper coloured and more powerful wines have often replaced the Rosé. That makes these examples particularly special.

The exposure of Bricat is southwest; the slope of the hill is steep and hard to work. The poor soil is sony, calcareous and sandy, with layers of red clay that encourage tannin and longevity.

In general, the 2019 Barolo vintage was not an easy year, suffering heat spikes and violent storms, but it was a rewarding one. It’s a “classic”, with longevity, structure, and austerity. Be patient, because the best wines are worth the wait.

Tasting

A mid-crimson colour, with a little garnet. The aromas are outstanding, so linger over them, and you’ll find roses and violets, but also hints of tea and freshly dug earth. The palate has a superb balance of acidity and alcohol, holding blueberry and blackberry fruits together with a hint of orange. The tannins are becoming silken, though there is still some tension and a little austerity that only time will tame. The finish is long and satisfying, with a nutty, savoury character. This is an expression of Barolo that already offers poise and finesse, with much more to come in terms of complexity.

Predicting a peak drinking window is a bit of a lottery, but 2030-2040 feels about right. Drink with beef, lamb, porcini mushrooms or dishes featuring truffles. As for cheese, hard and old – Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano, Gouda, Comté.

Lay and Wheeler £33.00 In Bond, so with tax and duty, £44.22.

 

Barolo  DOCG,  Castelletto,  2020.  15%

Castelletto is also one hectare, part of the Castelletto MGA, making 5-6,000 bottles pa. First made in 1961, the vineyard was replanted in 1999 and has an E-SE exposure and clay/calcareous soil. Slopes here are again extremely steep.

2020 in Barolo was, in contrast to 2019, a more generous vintage. There was heat, but not heat spikes, and in general, the vines were unstressed. Consequently, the wines are generally fuller and will be ready earlier, though it’s thought they will have a shorter lifespan.

Tasting

Castelletto has a stronger, darker ruby colour, though with a little more garnet. The aromas here are as intense, but less floral, more towards raspberry, cherry and pomegranate. Again, there’s a hint of tea. The additional alcohol shows as more power and weight, but the acidity balances it well, and while heady, there’s no alcoholic burn. The tannins are still present but more evolved and less prominent, offering a softer and more generous expression. Again, a long, sensual finish with a little tobacco as a farewell.  For food matches, Game would be a good choice, though truffle dishes and those old hard cheeses are hard to resist.

As for a peak drinking prediction, I’ll hazard 2027-2035 – a little earlier and a little less longevity.

Lay and Wheeler £35.00 In Bond, so with tax and duty, £46.79

Comparatively speaking

Make no mistake, these are both exceptional wines. Forced to express a personal preference, Bricat edges it for me at present. But it’s not about being better, it’s about difference, and the best wine is the one you have in your glass.  My recommendation is to buy both, see the wines change and enjoy the comparison!

And now for a third

As with most world-class fine wines, drinking mature Barolo requires patience as well as deep pockets. Never cheap, you either buy it early and wait, or buy it ready and pay dearly. For most of us, this also makes it a wine to mark special occasions.

In the meantime, most of us will want to drink excellent younger wines at lower prices, and for Barolo lovers, Langhe Nebbiolo DOC fits the bill perfectly.

Langhe  Nebbiolo  DOC,  il  Crutin,  2023.  13%

Il Crutin is a vineyard in Gramolere MGA. In the Piedmontese dialect, it means a small cellar carved by hand into rock, a place where food and wines were once stored. The manual harvest is in mid/late October, with natural fermentation on the skins lasting only fifteen days to ensure early drinking. A shorter maturation in a combination of old barrels and steel tanks (6 months), with bottling on a waning moon without fining or filtering. 2023 was the third very dry year in a row, with extreme heat, so preserving acidity in such conditions is a hallmark of excellent winegrowing.

Simpler this style of wine may be, but it’s not inferior in quality and is a great ambassador for the appellation and a superb introduction to Nebbiolo and the Manzone range. No need to decant this, it’s fully ready to drink now and over the next 3-4 years. A pale-ruby colour, the rim a little lighter, again the aromas are splendid, sour cherry and violets. On the palate, the sour cherry fruit is reprised, alongside a lovely weightless balance of lighter alcohol and juicy acidity. It’s a combination that makes this wine dangerously easy to drink! It’s vivid and vivacious, a little orange peel at the end brings you back for more. As for food, lighter ragú pasta dishes or mushroom risotto.

 

Lay and Wheeler £12.50 In Bond, so with tax and duty, £19.15

And Finally

To mark the 100th Anniversary, Manzone have just released a special edition Barolo Riserva DOCG called Cento Anni. This is from the Gramolere MGA in the 2009 vintage, so it has already matured for sixteen years. I’m keeping the review of that wine a little bit longer because it’s not a summer drink! Instead, I’ll open it when the mists of autumn descend. That’s a respectful time to drink this serious vino di meditazione. There will be a full article about it then, so do watch out for it!

Meanwhile, thanks to Giovanni Manzone (4th Gen) and Mauro and Mirella Manzone (5th Gen) for the opportunity to enjoy these superb wines with them and for sharing their story with me.

Location

Azienda Agricola Manzone Giovanni
Via Castelletto, 9
Monforte d’Alba (CN)
Piemonte
Italy

What3words Location

Notes

1. MGA, or Menzioni Geografiche Aggiuntive, or MeGa. These mapped geographical areas were introduced in Barolo DOCG in 2010. These allow a vineyard name on the wine label. There are 181 of them in Barolo.  Those interested can download a PDF Map here.
2. A digression – Lamborghini started out making tractors and still does so. Following an argument with Enzo Ferrari about his Ferrari 250 GT in the sixties, Ferruccio Lamborghini went on to build his own sports cars.