Barolo: A Noble Wine

Two glasses of Barolo and the Castle of Barolo in the background. Photo Credit: www.svino.it
Two glasses of Barolo and the Castle of Barolo in the background. Photo Credit: www.svino.it

 

[아츠앤컬쳐] 대표적인 이탈리아 레드와인 중 하나인 바롤로는 1250년 피에몬테의 은행가인 팔레티 가문이 바롤로 마을과 주위 토지를 소유하게 되면서 그 역사가 시작된다. 토리노 근처의 리볼리 성에 보관된 문서를 보면 1268년에 네비올로 포도가 처음으로 언급되어 있다.

Early morning fog in a Nebbiolo vineyard. Langhe hills, Piemonte region, Italy. The Italian word for fog, “nebbia” is one possible origin for the name Nebbiolo. Photo Credit: Blue Moon in Her Eyes, www.flickr.com via Wikimedia Commons.
Early morning fog in a Nebbiolo vineyard. Langhe hills, Piemonte region, Italy. The Italian word for fog, “nebbia” is one possible origin for the name Nebbiolo. Photo Credit: Blue Moon in Her Eyes, www.flickr.com via Wikimedia Commons.

수세기 동안 이 포도로 만들어온 와인은 오늘날의 바롤로와는 달랐다. 1700년대 후반 미국 정치가이자 훗날 미국 대통령이 된 토마스 제퍼슨은 토리노에서 네비올로 와인을 시음하면서 “부드러운 마데이라처럼 달콤하며, 보르도처럼 떫고, 샴페인처럼 생동감이 있다”고 말했다.

The Castle of Barolo (10th century AD) belonged to the Falletti family for centuries, until the death of Marquise Juliette Colbert, in 1864. Photo credit: BlackLukes, via Wikimedia Commons.
The Castle of Barolo (10th century AD) belonged to the Falletti family for centuries, until the death of Marquise Juliette Colbert, in 1864. Photo credit: BlackLukes, via Wikimedia Commons.

현재의 바롤로 와인은 1800년대 중반 한 러브스토리 덕에 탄생했다. 바롤로의 카를로 팔레티 후작의 가문은 수세기 동안 피에몬테 영지를 소유해왔다. 카를로 팔레티 후작은 나폴레옹 보나파르트의 궁정에서 루이 14세의 재무장관인 귀족 장 밥티스트 콜베르의 증손녀이자 나폴레옹 보나파르트의 첫 번째 부인 조제핀 드 보아르네의 시녀인 줄리엣 콜베르를 만났다.

The village of Barolo, its Castle and Nebbiolo grapes vineyards. Langhe hills. Piemonte region, Italy.Photo Credit: www.paolabertoletti.com
The village of Barolo, its Castle and Nebbiolo grapes vineyards. Langhe hills. Piemonte region, Italy.Photo Credit: www.paolabertoletti.com

카를로와 줄리엣은 1806년에 결혼하고 토리노로 이사했다. 그 후에, 성과 포도밭이 있는 바롤로마을을 방문한 줄리엣은 유명한 고급 와인이 나오는 루아르에 있는 것처럼 편안함을 느꼈다. 그녀는 피에몬테에서도 그와 똑같은 좋은 와인을 만들 수 있다는 것을 깨달았다. 수년에 걸쳐 줄리엣 콜베르는 바롤로성에 새로운 지하저장고를 만들고 늦게 익는 네비올로 포도를 가꾸며 고상하고 깊은 맛의 풀바디 와인 바롤로를 만들어냈다.

Juliette Colbert de Maulévrier, Marquise of Barolo (1786~1864)Source: www.wikipedia.org
Juliette Colbert de Maulévrier, Marquise of Barolo (1786~1864)Source: www.wikipedia.org

줄리엣 콜베르는 이탈리아 통일의 주역이자 또한 와인 생산의 주역인 친구 카보우르 백작 덕분에 유럽 궁정에 바롤로를 알리게 되었다. 그녀가 피에몬테와 사르데냐의 왕인 카를로 알베르토 디 사보이아를 방문했을 때, 왕은 그녀에게 소문으로 들었던 바롤로 와인을 청했다. 줄리엣 후작부인은 왕을 기다리게 하지 않았고 며칠 후 바롤로 300배럴을 선물로 보냈다고 한다.

Barolo Riserva 2010. Cantine dei Marchesi di Barolo. Photo Credit: www.lucianopignataro.it
Barolo Riserva 2010. Cantine dei Marchesi di Barolo. Photo Credit: www.lucianopignataro.it

바롤로는 숙성 시 가넷 향이 나는 루비 레드와인이다. 네비올로 포도로만 만든 이 와인의 향은 말린 장미, 바닐라, 라즈베리, 블랙 커런트, 체리와 같은 과일향과 꽃향이 어우러져 있다. 그 맛은 강하고 구조가 단단하면서 동시에 우아하고 부드럽다. 미트 소스 파스타, 트러플 파스타, 구운 라자냐, 사냥 고기, 구운 고기, 삶은 고기, 포르치니 버섯 및 숙성 치즈와 잘 어울린다. 바롤로는 18~20℃가 적절하며 적어도 마시기 한 시간 전에 개봉해야 한다.

Piemonte region, north-western Italy. Monferrato (in red); Roero (in yellow ocher) and Langhe (in green, the three renowned Piedmontese wine areas.
Piemonte region, north-western Italy. Monferrato (in red); Roero (in yellow ocher) and Langhe (in green, the three renowned Piedmontese wine areas.

 

Barolo: A Noble Wine

One of the great Italian red wines, Barolo has an ancient history which begins in the Middle Ages, in 1250, when the Falletti family, Piedmontese bankers, acquired the village of Barolo with the surrounding lands. A few years later, in 1268, in some documents preserved in the Castle of Rivoli, nearby the city of Torino, Nebbiolo grapes were mentioned for the first time.

Nebbiolo vineyards above the town of Barolo. Langhe hills, Piemonte region, Italy.Photo Credit: Megan Mallen, www.flickr.com via Wikimedia Commons
Nebbiolo vineyards above the town of Barolo. Langhe hills, Piemonte region, Italy.Photo Credit: Megan Mallen, www.flickr.com via Wikimedia Commons

For centuries, the wine made with these grapes has been different from today’s Barolo and still in the late 1700s Thomas Jefferson, the American statesman, later president of the United States, tasting a Nebbiolo wine in Torino, he said it was “sweet like velvety Madeira, astringent like Bordeaux, lively like Champagne.”

Carlo Falletti, Marquis of Barolo (1782~1838)Source: www.museotorino.it via wikipedia.org
Carlo Falletti, Marquis of Barolo (1782~1838)Source: www.museotorino.it via wikipedia.org

The current Barolo wine was born around the mid-1800s, thanks to a love story. Carlo Falletti, Marquis of Barolo, was a descendant of the Falletti family, for centuries owner of those Piedmontese lands. Chamberlain at the court of Napoléon Bonaparte, Marquis Carlo Falletti met a young noble woman in the French aristocrat circles, Juliette Colbert de Maulévrier, great-granddaughter of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the finance minister of king Louis XIV. Juliette Colbert was one of the ladies-in-waiting of Joséphine de Beauharnais, Napoléon Bonaparte’s first wife.

The village of Barolo, its Castle and Nebbiolo grapes vineyards. Langhe hills. Piemonte region, Italy.Photo Credit: www.paesaggivitivinicoliunesco.it
The village of Barolo, its Castle and Nebbiolo grapes vineyards. Langhe hills. Piemonte region, Italy.Photo Credit: www.paesaggivitivinicoliunesco.it

Carlo and Juliette got married in 1806 and they moved to Torino. Later, visiting the village of Barolo, with the castle and the vineyards, Juliette felt at ease, as in her Loire, famous for fine wines. She realized that an equally fine wine could be made in Piedmont.

Beef tenderloin with pepper and a glass of Barolo. Photo Credit: www.svino.it
Beef tenderloin with pepper and a glass of Barolo. Photo Credit: www.svino.it

Over the years, Juliette Colbert had new cellars built in the castle of Barolo and taking care of the late ripening Nebbiolo grapes, she made a full-bodied wine, noble and deep in taste: Barolo. Thanks to her friend the Count of Cavour, Italian statesman, leading figure in Italian unification and wine producer, Juliette Colbert succeeded in spreading Barolo in the European courts.

Aged cheeses paired with Barolo. Photo Credit: www.italysfinestwines.it
Aged cheeses paired with Barolo. Photo Credit: www.italysfinestwines.it

One day, she went to visit Carlo Alberto of Savoy, king of Piedmont and Sardinia. The king asked her to taste her wine that he had heard of. Marquise Juliette did not keep the king waiting and, in a few days, she sent him three hundred barrels of her Barolo as a gift. Barolo is a ruby red wine with garnet nuances when aging. Made exclusively from Nebbiolo grapes, its aroma is a combination of fruity and floral notes, such as dried roses, vanilla, raspberries, black currants and cherries. The taste is powerful, structured, but elegant and velvety at the same time.

Tagliatelle with truffles and a glass of Barolo. Photo Credit: www.langhe-experience.it
Tagliatelle with truffles and a glass of Barolo. Photo Credit: www.langhe-experience.it

Excellent paired with meat sauce pasta, truffle pasta, baked lasagna, game meat, roast, braised or stewed meat, porcini mushrooms and aged cheeses. Barolo should be served at 18~20 ‘C and opened at least one hour before drinking it.

 

Emiliano Pennisi
Emiliano Pennisi

글 | 에밀리아노 펜니지 Emiliano Pennisi
Sogang University lecturer of Italian language
Wine scholar and expert
He attended sommellier courses in Italy

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