BAROLO, BARBARESCO AND BRUNELLO
AUSTRALIA’S LEADING ITALIAN FINE WINE SPECIALIST
EXPERTLY SELECTED, DISTINCTIVELY ITALIAN.
THOUGHTFULLY SELECTING ITALIAN WINE FOR AUSTRALIAN TABLES.
AUTHENTICITY, ELEGANCE AND DEPTH IN EVERY POUR.
We specialise in sourcing and importing exceptional Italian wines that speak of place, tradition and quiet excellence. With decades of deep connections across Italy’s most respected regions and producers, we consistently acquire distinguished and remarkable wines.
LEARN MORE ABOUT DAVID RIDGE WINES
We help restaurants, retailers, and Italian wine drinkers discover and deliver memorable wine. Underpinned by knowledge, trust, and a shared respect for the regions.
A REMARKABLE TASTING OF BAROLO AND BARBARESCO
A pretty remarkable tasting for each of us. I invited Justin Lane, Nick Ryan and Marcell Kustos to my place to taste a heap of Barolo/Barbaresco. To warm up we looked at incoming wines we haven’t had before from Sordo; Alta Langa, Timorasso, Verduno Pelaverga and Dolcetto.
EXPLORE OUR DISTINCT FOCUS BY REGION AND VARIETAL. BAROLO, BARBARESCO AND BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO.
Nebbiolo and Sangiovese stand at the summit of Italian fine wine. Each varietal is rooted in a unique place and culture, producing wines of longevity and emotional depth. Barolo, Barbaresco and Brunello di Montalcino form the backbone of Italy’s global wine reputation; not just for their prestige, but for their capacity to move, evolve, and endure.
CLUB NEBB
There’s no charge, no commitments, just participation, to whatever level suits you, of a society, I suppose, dedicated to the appreciation of the world’s most wonderful grape variety and the appreciation of the elements surrounding, supporting and reflecting it, in its heartland of Piemonte.
THE ITALIAN WINE MAKERS WE WORK WITH
EXPLORE THE MAKERS DAVID RIDGE WINES PARTNERS WITH IN BRINGING BAROLO, BARBARESCO AND BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO WINES TO AUSTRALIA.
GIOVANNI SORDO Barolo 2017
“We recently revisited this stellar vintage, and all of Sordo’s wines looked fabulous! They are pure and expressive of their respective vineyards. It is a rare opportunity to secure an impressive selection of museum-release wines directly from the winery.” - DAVID RIDGE
“Tasted all these wines last night. Outstanding. You should buy heaps! Great style, big old wood, and perfect balance.” - CHESTER OSBORN - Chief Winemaker and Viticultralist | d’Arenberg
MARCHESI DI GRESY Barbaresco
The wines of the Marchesi di Gresy are some of the most beautiful you will experience. The Nebbiolo of their famed Grand Cru Monopole, Matinenga, produces wines of incredible colour, perfumes, intensity and elegance. The di Gresy family have been in Barbaresco for centuries. They record taking ownership of the Monte Aribaldo property in Treiso comune in 1650 and in 1797 they were gifted Martinenga itself, site of the first Roman settlement in the area, known then as Villa Martis. Yet the family only started to vinify from this famous property for themselves in the 1970’s.
THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO BAROLO
Barolo is a number of things…
Barolo is a village 70 km south of Turin in the Province of Cuneo, in the Region (State) of Piemonte (Piedmont in English and never the hybrid/mongrel Piedmonte!). A beautiful little town, framed by the Castello di Barolo, and small enough to walk fairly thoroughly in under an hour. It contains, just within a couple of hundred metres of each other, the actual cellar doors and wineries, of such famous names as Mascarello (Bartolo), Brezza, Borgogno, Barale, Chiara Boschis, Marchesi di Barolo and Giuseppe Rinaldi; each of which you can almost stumble upon, such are their (mostly) unprepossessing frontages. The comune’s most famous vineyard Cannubi, itself starts right on the edge of the village.
Barolo village also gives its name to one of the 11 comunes that make up the Barolo wine zone; this is the Barolo DOCG….
‘Considering the antiquity of this sizeable estate - it has been in the hands of the Marchesi di Gresy for over 200 years - and the excellence of their vineyard sites, wines of greater impressiveness have been expected by some than have been delivered. Perhaps the disappointed tasters have been overlooking subtlety and grace in their wish for power and intensity, a common enough tendency in our time.’ Nicolas Belfrage MW, Barolo to Valpolicella
The wines of the Marchesi di Gresy are some of the most beautiful you will experience. The Nebbiolo of their famed Monopole Matinenga, produces wines of incredible colour, perfumes, intensity and elegance. The di Gresy family have been in Barbaresco for centuries. They record taking ownership of the Monte Aribaldo property in Treiso comune in 1650 and in 1797 they were gifted Martinenga itself, site of the first Roman settlement in the area, known then as Villa Martis. Yet the family only started to vinify from this famous property, for themselves, into the 1970’s.
From the outskirts of Barbaresco township you can look down onto the magical natural amphitheatre of 12 ha of Martinenga. The soil here is the classic Tortonian blue-grey limestone marl that constitutes most of the Barbaresco zone. While there is bit of Barbera, Cabernet, Chardonnay and Sauvignon planted, the main game is Nebbiolo, which provides all the material for the beautiful Langhe Nebbiolo and for the three separate Barbaresco bottlings.
Fermented for 8-10 days, 20-30 days maceration. Aged in French barriques for 12 months and 16 more months in Slavonian oak. Further ageing in bottle before release.
In their seminal book ‘Italy’s Noble Red Wines’ (1985) - a must-have text - Sheldon and Pauline Wasserman rated Martinenga as the greatest of Barbaresco vineyards, one step higher even than Rabaja and Asili, or the Santo Stefano of Albesani. This was based mainly on their summary of the opinions of local experts and producers, rather than anything official or codified.
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’Just mid ruby with orange tinges. Impressive nose of cherry compote with top notes of spice and a hint of iron. Multi-layered, supple fruit that has already developed a little and with a suggestion of fruit cake on the finish. Perfect dose of acidity and bags of animating, chewy tannins on the finish. Elegant rather than full-bodied. Can be approached now ‘- Walter Spelling
‘Wonderfully perfumed with cedar, sandalwood and ripe strawberries, but subtle and very fine. It’s medium-bodied with integrated tannins. Extremely long and focused. Superb. Drinkable now, but better in 2022’. - James Suckling
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Region - Barbaresco DOCG
Comune - Barbaresco
MGA/Vineyard/Cru - Martinenga
Subplot - Camp Gros
Variety - Nebbiolo