If there was ever a producer that personifies Italian wine, it might well be Giuseppe Rinaldi. Located in the famed Piedmont sub-region, Barolo, Rinaldi produces one of the world's finest expressions of Nebbiolo, celebrated for its fruit and floral profiles and traditional winemaking. Though run-ins with Italian wine authorities regarding their techniques slowed down Rinaldi's momentum in the early 21st century, today, Rinaldi wine is regarded as one of the world's greatest Barolos, demanding hefty prices, critical acclaim, and fervor from collectors across the globe.
Giuseppe Rinaldi: One of Italy's Original Wine Icons
In 1870, the Rinaldi family started a winery in Piedmont, purchasing the Boschis farmhouse atop Canubi. The winery, labeled Barale & Rinaldi, was a family business until Giuseppe and his brothers divided the land, each beginning their own businesses. Giuseppe's wine was an instant hit, becoming a defining wine in the Barolo region. After releasing the first vintage in 1921, Giuseppe decided to create two labels, blending grapes from multiple vineyards in the traditional style. As such, Rinaldi Barolo Brunate-Le Coste and Rinaldo Barolo Cannubi Ravera were born.
After passing away in the 1940s, Giuseppe's son, Battista, took over, revolutionizing Barolo winemaking techniques and cutting Rinaldi wines down to one label. Eventually, he passed the estate onto his son, Beppe, who would become one of Italy's greatest winemakers. Beppe released his first vintage in 1993 after returning to the family business following a career as a veterinarian. Beppe returned to his grandfather's roots, releasing two vintages from blended grapes across all vineyards. Wines were sold this way until 2009, when Italian winemaking authorities updated Barolo regulations, requiring no more than one vineyard to appear on a label and only containing up to 15% wine from another vineyard. Beppe was furious at the decision, believing it contradicted classic Barolo winemaking, which included a blend of grapes from multiple vineyards. To protest this new law, Beppe tweaked the portions in each wine to ensure the full expression of every vineyard was represented in the wines.
Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo
With no single-cru Barolo existing for Rinaldi after 2009, the estate's two bottles, Brunate and Tre Tine, now express all four vineyards. Tre Tine is a blend of fruit from the Le Coste, San Lorenzo, and Ravera vineyards, while Brunate blends grapes from Le Coste and Brunate plots. When creating each wine, Rinaldi sticks to the same techniques, which include using indigenous yeast for fermentation, tall upright oak vats, Slavonian cask aging, and bottle aging for three and a half years. No chemicals are used on the vineyards, with only manure used for fertilizers and small amounts of copper and sulfur on the soil. In total, Rinaldi owns just 6 hectares of land across all four vineyards and completely replanted each in the 1980s.
Barolo Excellence: Giuseppe Rinaldi Brunate
The Brunate label has become renowned for being one of Italy's greatest Barolos, with acclaimed Italian wine critic, Antonio Galloni, stating that "Beppe Rinaldi's Barolos are at or near the top of the list." Though the estate went through a difficult period in the early 21st century, losing steam to flashier Barolo producers who catered to the taste of Robert Parker. After Antonio Galloni gained prominence in the Italian wine industry in the late 2000s, Rinaldi returned to the top of the Barolo food chain. It's wines differ from other Barolos as it contains a prominent fruit and floral profile as well as contains blends from various vineyards.
Grab a bottle from Italy's famed Rinaldi and expand your cellar today.
