In the early 1830s, Camillo Benso moved into Castello di Grinzane Cavour in south-east Piedmont. He worked in the castle and in local vineyards like Vigna Gustava, which slopes down beside it. Benso is better known by his title, the Count of Cavour – there is a Via Cavour in just about every Italian city. The Count of Cavour was one of the architects of Italian unification and became the country’s first prime minister. In the world of wine, however, his greatest contribution was his collaboration with oenologists Marquis Pier Francesco Staglieno and Louis Oudart to revolutionise wine production using the local nebbiolo grape.

Highly responsive to terroir and vintage, this grape variety is capable of producing strikingly different wines from soil patches in close proximity with one another. Rich and full-bodied, Barolo wines are made solely from the nebbiolo, which can generate complexity and richness without being combined with another grape.

In keeping with the Castello’s history of wine innovation, Christie’s will run the second Barolo en primeur event there. On 28 October 2022, 14 barriques of prestigious Barolo en primeur, all made from grapes harvested at Vigna Gustava during the 2021 vintage, will be sold. (A 15th will be offered on 13 November as part of the International Alba White Truffle Auction.)

This charity auction has adopted the Bordeaux en primeur system whereby young wines are purchased in advance of their being bottled. Barolos, which can improve for up to 80 years, lend themselves to such an investment model. After being sold, the wines will age for four years. Then approximately 300 bottles from each barrique purchased will be sent to its successful bidder.

Brummell had the pleasure of tasting the 15 wines on offer. Each has a remarkably unique profile and personality, attesting to the nebbiolo’s versatility. American wine critic Antonio Galloni has published his tasting notes in Vinous, with predictions for how each wine will evolve. Nodding to his involvement in the event, there will be a live broadcast of the auction at Christie’s New York, where people may also place bids.

The CRC Foundation, which acquired Vigna Gustava in 2019, organised the event in a philanthropic partnership with the CRC Donare Foundation and the Consortium for the Protection of Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe and Dogliani. Proceeds from each successful bid will go straight to non-profit organisations and social projects, just as the 666,000 euros raised through the inaugural Barolo en primeur auction in 2021 were donated to 17 charities. Money raised by the sale of the 15th barrel will be donated to Mother’s Choice, an NPO supporting orphaned children and young women in need in Hong Kong.

Only some of the barriques on offer have been allocated to specific organisations in this way. The partners aim to spur investors who have charitable interests all over the world to take part, and are therefore allowing people who win certain barriques to choose which social cause will be the beneficiary of their purchase.

Aiming to spread solidarity in the form of this culture of donation, the project has also brought together more than 70 producers of the Consortium, who are contributing a further 1,200 bottles and magnums to the auction. These contain their own Barolos from the 2021 vintage. Proceeds from this part of the auction will be donated to the Alba School of Oenology, whose students, the next generation of Italian oenologists, use Vigna Gustava for on-the-job training.

The organisers have sought to increase the value of the Barolos in the 15 barriques by involving expert oenologist Donato Lanati. Lanati’s Enosis Meraviglia Laboratory guides the entire process of production, from ripening and vinification to ageing. And renowned artist Michelangelo Pistoletto has created a work titled Rose of the Third Paradise 2022 which will appear on Barolo en primeur 2022 labels.

So full of beauty and culture is the Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato that it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014. A popular wine tourist destination, travellers obtain technical information about local wines during visits to cellars, vineyards and attractions like the gastronomic University of Pollenzo. For this reason, the wine museum in the Castle of Barolo (not to be confused with Castello di Grinzane Cavour) has dedicated itself to the history of mankind’s connection with wine – it is a source of inspiration for many great works of literature, art and film, and occupies a significant place in religion, from the Cult of Dionysus to the liturgy of the Eucharist.

And it is Barolo en primeur that has inspired this year’s creation of the Belvedere Vigna Gustava, a terrace with a panoramic view of Castello di Grinzane Cavour, Vigna Gustava, and those hazelnut trees and vineyards that stretch for miles and are so culturally and economically important to the local population. Sharing the earth tones of this landscape, the terrace is intended to grant visitors physical and cultural immersion in the historic Gustava vineyard from whose grapes Barolo en primeur is made. One may scan QR codes placed along the short path from the Castello to this terrace in order to hear Camillo Benso (played by voice actor Mario Bois) talking about the location.

Poetically set against this backdrop – throughout which innovations that led to the existence not only of the modern Barolo but of the beautiful country of Italy as we know it took place – Barolo en primeur 2022 is no doubt an important milestone in the history of the superb DOCG wine. And while the event will be livestreamed so that you can participate remotely, we recommend seeing this stunning wine region for yourself.

For more information and remote bidding forms, see fondazionecrcdonare.it