Marrone
Barolo – 2020
Region: italy - piedmont
Marrone
The origins of Agricola Marrone date back over a century and through four generations. The family is focused on cultivating local grape varietals with a passionate dedication to the land.
When Pietro Marrone was born in 1887, his father Edoardo was already producing wines. In 1910, at 23 years old, he asked his father to plant some vineyards. In the early 1920s/30s the winery began cultivating vineyards using techniques that were revolutionary at the time: reducing production yields to prioritize higher quality and avoiding sowing wheat between vine rows, a standard practice at the time. This decision was an early adoption of what eventually became known as modern cultivation practices widely used in the region today.
In 1978 ‘Gianpi’ took over full management of Marrone and began a phase of expansion in the vineyards and the cellar space. His wife Giovanna, affectionately known as “Mamma Gio,” orchestrates private hospitality and is the kitchen director. For Giovanna, food is “tradition and Italian values that go hand with our wines.”
Since 2011 the winery has been run by “Tre Fie,” the three daughters of Gian Piero and Giovanna Marrone. Valentina is the winemaker, Serena runs marketing and business operations, and Denise is the hospitality heart and manager of the visitor programs and restaurant. The farm is run with minimal intervention in the vineyard, a philosophy that carries through from harvest to winemaking. The Marrone family pays careful attention to produce wines that are elegantly structured with the potential to evolve for decades.
The Wine
Vineyard Profile
Vineyards in Castiglione Falletto & La Morra, Barolo DOCG.
- Castiglione Falletto – high iron content, which converts into a richer color, bolder wines, structure and a stronger tannin, more power than the west side
- Altitude: 1150 feet/350 meters
- Exposure: Southwest
- Soil: Looser calcareous marl with high sandstone content, rich in iron
- La Morra – Tortonian soil, creating more perfumed, gentle, softer wines
- Altitude: 885 feet/270 meters
- Exposure: South
- Soil: Compact calcareous marl mixed with sand, rich in magnesium and manganese
- Vines Planted: average 1985
- Vine Training System: Traditional Guyot
Harvest Notes
- Hand harvested the first week of October
- Berry selection in vineyard and at cellar
- Fermented in stainless steel tanks for 28 days at 86ºF
- Malolactic fermentation in 50% large 30HL barrels and 50% barriques
- Aged 24 months in oak, battonage on fine lees the 1st 8 months
- Bottled under nitrogen cover
Winemaker's Notes
The elegant and transparent color is what characterizes the Nebbiolo grape. The smell enchants with intense aromas of liquorice, black cherry and leather, with hints of earth and undergrowth. The palate is broad, expressive and round, with velvety tannins and a sustained body. Persistent finish, with notes of spices and cherries.
Wine Summary
100% Nebbiolo, “Lancia” & “Michet” biotypes; alcohol: 14.5%; vineyards in Castiglione Falletto & La Morra; altitudes 1150 & 885 feet; calcareous marl soils mixed with sand, limestone and sandstone, rich in iron and minerals; hand harvested 1st week October with 2 passes of berry selections; fermented 30 days at 86ºF in stainless steel tanks; malolactic fermentation in 50% – 30Hl barrels and 50% in oak barriques; aged 24 months in oak, initial 8 months on fine lees with battonage; bottled under nitrogen cover.
Technical Information
- 100% Nebbiolo, “Lampia” and “Michet” biotypes
- Alcohol: 14.5%
- Total Acidity: 5.2 g/l
- Extract: 28.5 g/l
Reviews
17 Points
Full bottle 1,326 g.
The hallmark of Marrone Barolos is, for me, breathtaking limpidity and deep-stone minerality. Each and every one of them has the liquid-ruby quality of dawn sunlight pouring through a red stained-glass window, pooling on a cool, ancient stone floor. This Barolo cuvée is not a cru but it’s no exception. It smells of bruised peony petals after a summer storm. It tastes like kissing cherry-stained lips and cold cellar stones. It feels like lichen on an old damson tree. Damsons, moss and ferns and stones. 2025 – 2040
JancisRobinson.com, April, 2024
90 Points
Ripe cherries, red plums, dried orange peel, spices and hints of chocolate on the nose. Velvety and creamy on the palate with a medium body and fine tannins. It shows good volume, but fades rather quickly at the end. Better after two to three years.
jamessuckling.com, May, 2024
93 Points
As I have mentioned in the past, the Marrone family has been growing grapes in La Morra for four generations, with the Marrone sisters, Valentina, Serena and Denise currently running the estate. Their blended Barolo cuvée is made from fruit sourced from the family vineyards in both La Morra and Castiglione Falletto, with the wine is raised half in botti and half in barrique for two years. The 2020 version tips the scales at 14.5 percent alcohol in this vintage and delivers a beautiful, red fruity nose of cherries, spit-roasted pigeon, camphor, licorice, a complex base of soil, a touch of fresh oregano, sweet brown spices and a discreet framing of cedary oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and very transparent in personality, with a gorgeous core of red fruit, firm, well-integrated tannins, lovely balance and grip and a long, focused and complex finish. This is an excellent bottle of Barolo in the making! 2042 – 2100
View From The Cellar, September, 2024
91 Points
Bright red. Aromas of red cherry, musky spices and herbs. Offers seamlessly woven flavours of black cherry, vanilla and underbrush on the long, lifted finish. Not the last word in complexity but solidly made and nicely accessible. 2028 – 2037
Ian D'Agata Wine Review, December, 2024
90 Points
Lifted aromas of fresh raspberries and cherries mingle with dried cranberries and red currants, accompanied by leaf and herbal notes on the nose. The palate is plush and fruit-forward, yet supported by a focused core of acidity, fine-grained tannins, and subtle minerality, lending a sense of precision and linearity to the palate. Drink now through 2035.
Wine Enthusiast, September, 2024
General Info
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Piedmont |
| Appellation(s) | Barolo DOCG; Langhe DOC |
| Proprietors | Gian Piero Marrone |
| Founded | 1887 |
| Winemaker | Valentina Marrone |
| Annual Production | 4600 9L cases |
| Farming (Sustainable, organic, biodynamic) | Farmed using organic principles |