Barolo MGA Vol. I Third Edition, Alessandro Masnaghetti Editore

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

Since Alessandro Masnahetti published his first book on Barolo in 2015, he has continued to relentlessly explore the Langhe’s terroirs, producers, and wines.

Over the past eight years, he has published four more works on the Langhe—Barolo MGA Vol II, Barolo MGA Vol I 2nd Edition, and 2 editions of Barbaresco MGA—each book more exciting than the one before.

But Alessandro’s first four books hardly prepared us for his latest effort.

Though he modestly titles it Barolo MGA Vol I, 3rd Edition, it is actually a very different book from the first two editions. It’s also a massive 548 pages, an 85-page increase from the 2nd edition.

His first two editions emphasize terroir, wine character and vineyard ownership, and he continues to build on that legacy with the most beautiful and informative maps so far.

But for us, the real excitement is the shifting focus of of Alessandro’s research to the Barolos themselves. That is great news for us as collectors and consumers.

For the first time since Sheldon Wasserman first attempted it in 1991, we were starting to get a full picture of the history of Barolo bottlings. Organized by MGA (which is today’s official name for a cru), Alessandro provides listings with dates and names of hundreds of different “cru” Barolos.

Some of these bottlings are well known to us, but it’s great to know authoritatively the first vintage in which they were made.

Others are fascinating obscurities, such as some early Monfortinos labeled as coming from the Mosconi and Romagnaso crus! (It reminds us that, until 1974, Giacomo Conterno owned none of its own vineyards, and so its fruit sources, even for Monfortino, were likely to shift.)

This only scratches the surface of all the new information to be found in the 3rd Edition of Barolo MGA Vol. I. You’ll need to get a copy for yourself.