From Langhe to London and New York, with tastings from barrel in cellars, here’s “Barolo en primeur”

“Barolo & Charity” grows and expands its horizons with “Barolo en primeur” 2023, after a success guaranteed in past editions by the pairing, which will touch three continents and open the doors of 25 wineries for the unique experience of barrel tastings: after raising nearly 1.5 million euros in favor of 37 charitable projects and initiatives, this is how “Barolo en primeur” 2023 presents itself, which returns on October 27 to Grinzane Cavour Castle for a large charity auction, promoted by Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Cuneo and Fondazione Crc Donare Ets, in collaboration with Consorzio di Tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Dogliani.
The goal is to fund social activities through a solidarity auction of Barolo Vigna Gustava barrels and communal lots of Barolo and Barbaresco, two of Italy’s most iconic fine wines that are increasingly appreciated around the world. Hosting the event will be the Castello di Grinzane Cavour, at the base of which stands the Vigna Gustava - formerly owned and vinified by Count Camillo Benso and now owned by the Cr Foundation - where the Nebbiolo da Barolo contained in the barriques contended by collectors and philanthropists present both on-site and live from New York and, this year, from London as well.
Indeed, the event’s international success will also bring the auction to the British capital, one of the world’s most important cities for consumption of fine wines and a major global economic capital. As in the Big Apple, collectors and philanthropists will compete, in live streaming, for lots of Barolo en primeur, directly from the London rooms of Christie’s, the auction house founded in 1766 right in the City.
This year’s “Barolo en primeur” auction will be associated with 12 barrels of Barolo Vigna Gustava 2022, vinified by Donato Lanati’s Laboratorio Enosis Meraviglia, each made separately to give them all a different and unique personality, which is also the result of the parceling of the vineyard according to exposure, altitude and age of the vines. Attached to each barrique is, in the form of a video, a review by Antonio Galloni, world-renowned wine critic and CEO of Vinous, who evaluates the quality and characteristics of this Barolo every year.
Eleven barrels will be associated with the charity auction on October 27, and all proceeds will be donated to Italian and international social projects and initiatives in the areas of health, research, the arts, social inclusion, cultural promotion and its preservation. The beneficiaries are nonprofit associations, third sector entities, both public and private, some of which have already been identified and associated with the lots, while others will be chosen directly by those who win the generosity contest.
The twelfth lot will, on the other hand, be auctioned in the “World White Truffle of Alba Auction”, on Sunday, November 12, again from the Grinzane Cavour Castle and in live streaming with Hong Kong, the proceeds of which will be donated to the international charity “Mother’s Choice”, which has been working since 1987 in favor of orphaned children and young women in need. In addition, the charity auction of “Barolo en primeur” will see the participation of more than 95 Producers of the Consorzio di Tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Dogliani, who will donate 1,336 bottles of Barolo and Barbaresco from the 2022 vintage to the project: 1,034 0.75-liter examples, 242 magnums and 60 Jeroboams, for a total of 1318.5 liters. The wineries will unite under the name of the municipality of production, completing the auction with 10 municipal lots composed of mainly large-format bottles, which are more valuable for both their economic and collectible value.
The auction of municipal lots will begin online as early as Friday, October 6, thus extending the time frame for bidding, available to anyone who wants to participate at: https://theauctioncollective.com/auctions/barolo-en-primeur-2023/. The closing, however, will still take place on October 27 at the Grinzane Cavour Castle, once again punctuated by the iconic hammer blow of Cristiano De Lorenzo, director of Christie’s Italia. Thanks to the municipal lots, it will be possible to finance the training projects of the Alba School of Enology, a true excellence that trains the future human capital of the territory. An investment in the new generations and a second piece after the 132,800 euros already donated in edition No. 2 “Barolo en primeur”.
But the 2023 rendezvous will come out of Grinzane Cavour Castle and the halls of London and New York with “Barolo en primeur Exclusive Tasting”: from Friday, October 20 to Friday, October 27, 25 the best producers of the Langhe will open the doors of their cellars to the general public for exclusive tastings of Barolo and Barbaresco en primeur 2022, the very bottles that will then be auctioned on October 27. This is an extraordinary occasion that, for the first time, will allow wine lovers, philanthropists and collectors to get a firsthand approach to the world of en primeur, a reality usually accessible only to wine technicians. To book this experience, you must register at: https://www.fieradeltartufo.org/categorie-eventi/barolo-en-primeur/.
Since edition No. 1, bottles of “Barolo en primeur” have been distinguished by a unique and unrepeatable label designed each year by a great international artist. After Giuseppe Penone and Michelangelo Pistoletto, the 2022 vintage has been entrusted to the famous painter Otobong Nkanga, chosen as the spokesperson for the values of “Barolo en primeur” because of her empathetic relationship with the earth and the environment and her art, which has always addressed urgent issues related to the ecological crisis, resource exploitation and sustainability. The protagonist of the label will be the work “The Journey of a Sip”, which draws inspiration from the shape of a bottle, which is transformed into a body, a respiratory organ, and takes on the form of a tree: bottling thus becomes a moment of conjunction and decanting between the earth and the human body, poetically alluding to the indissoluble relationship between earth, vine, wine and human beings. “London is one of the main marketplaces for quality wines: bringing “Barolo en primeur” to that stage is a valuable achievement that opens up new perspectives. Reaching the City would not have been possible without the partnership with Christie’s, the most important auction house in the world, which has been collaborating with “Barolo en primeur” since edition No. 1 and which, this year, has allowed us to raise the bar even higher, hosting the auction in its English headquarters and promoting it in person on its own channels”, comments Ezio Raviola, President of Fondazione Crc. “We can say without fear that “Barolo en primeur”, in just three editions, has established itself as one of the most significant events for the world of wine at the international level, a unique opportunity to promote in the world an excellence of our territory and at the same time, raise important resources to support charitable initiatives”.
“Almost 100 wineries have decided to donate their bottles in various formats for "Barolo en primeur”, began Matteo Ascheri, president of the Consorzio di Tutela Barolo Barbaresco Langhe Dogliani. “This extraordinary result shows that the Langhe of wine are teaming up and aiming together toward a common goal. The great success of the last edition, thanks to which we raised important funds for the Wine School, dedicated to training and research, are the first step of a path that we intend to strongly support in the coming years as well. A project capable of also exploiting the strong push of a market that increasingly appreciates Barolo and Barbaresco both for the great quality of the wine and for the possibility of investment, which, in en primeur, finds one of the best opportunities for realization”. “Almost 1.5 million euros destined for 37 social projects: the data of the first two editions tell us that “Barolo en primeur” is an extraordinary success: we are confident that this new edition will be able to confirm and further grow this union between wine and solidarity”, explains Giuliano Viglione, president of Fondazione Crc Donare Ets. “This year the event even spans three continents, but the link with the territory remains firm and priority, thanks to the collaboration with the Barolo and Barbaresco Consortium and the Wine School. A charity project that starts in our province and continues to grow, in Italy and internationally”.