Auctions, a unique collection of 1,900 bottles of Barolo Borgogno under the hammer at Finarte

Borgogno is a piece of Barolo history. And there are those who have made a personal myth out of this history. Like the private, Italian collector who has collected 1,900 bottles of Barolo from the winery founded in 1761 by Bartolomeo Borgogno, and since 2008 under the auspices of the Farinetti family. A unique collection, the largest ever seen dedicated to the winery, of great completeness, with vintages such as 1931, 1937, 1947, 1952, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1959 and then all the vintages produced without omitting a single one until 2014. And which will now go up for auction under the hammer of the Milanese auction house Finarte, on October 28, in Milan (via Paolo Sarpi, which, to introduce the extraordinary auction, on October 13 at 8 p.m., staged a tasting of Barolo Borgogno Riserva 1971, 1974, 1981 and Barolo Borgogno Docg 1995, led by Ais sommelier, Nicola Bonera).
Among the top lots is No. 57, the richest vertical in the collection, 75 bottles covering the period from 1931 to 2014: 1931, 1937, 1947, 1952, 1955, 1957, 1958 and all vintages produced since 1961 except 1968. Alongside the Docg or Riserva version, it presents the estate’s rare cru called “Barolo Storico” in the vintages 1988, 1989, 1990, 1996, 1998 and continuously from 2000 to 2012 (since the 2004 vintage the “Barolo Storico” takes on the name “Vigna Liste”) and the prestigious Cru Fossati in the splendid 2010 vintage. With an estimated award ranging from 12,000 to 24,000 euros. Again, it fluctuates in a hypothetical range between 10,000 and 20,000 euros for lot No. 27, a vertical of 60 bottles covering, again, the period from 1931 to 2014: 1931, 1937, 1947, 1952, 1955, 1957, 1958 and all the vintages produced since 1961 except 1968, as well as Cru “Barolo Storico” in the vintages 1988, 1989, 1990, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2003, then Vigna Liste from 2004 to 2012. Just some of the great lots that tell the story of Barolo and one of its longest-lived wineries.
The winery was founded in 1761 by Bartolomeo Borgogno, and exactly a century later Barolo Borgogno was drunk at the luncheon celebrating the birth of the Italian state. In 1908 it was served at the banquet in honor of Tsar Nicholas II Romanov at Racconigi Castle. In 1920 Cesare Borgogno took over as head of the winery, imparting an important commercial development by initiating exports to foreign markets in Europe, the United States and Argentina; he initiated a practice that will remain in the winery’s history: half of the production of Barolo Riserva is left to age for 20 years in the winery’s cellar before being marketed. In 1955 the Institute des Appellation d’origine sued Borgogno, accusing the company of taking its name from the French region of Burgundy. The name of the winery, however, remained the same until 1967, when it became “Giacomo Borgogno and Sons”. Upon Cesare Borgogno’s death in 1968, management of the company passed to his granddaughter Isa and her future husband Franco Boschis. In 1972, in Turin, at an important auction of historic wines, a bottle of Barolo Borgogno 1886 breaks every record for value ever achieved by an Italian wine with the extraordinary adjudication for 530,000 lire. In 1984, management of the winery passed to sons Cesare and Giorgio Boschis, who ran it until it was acquired by the Farinetti family in 2008.
The new impetus imparted by the Farinetti family is immediately evident with the goal of preserving the winery’s historical traditions: in 2009 the winery building is renovated, recovering its historical appearance, and in 2013 the ancient tradition of fermenting wines in cement is resumed; in 2015 the conversion to organic farming is initiated, and in 2016 a renovation of the historical cellars brings back the oldest cement tanks. The vineyard extension is also expanded with the acquisition of 11.5 hectares to add to the historic 20 hectares and the subsequent lease of the prestigious Annunziata Cru. And now a piece of this long and unique history finished in bottles is available to collectors and enthusiasts around the world.