Giuseppe Rinaldi
With numerous vintages on the CV, it's no understatement to call Giuseppe Rinaldi, commonly known as Beppe, "the Barolo Maestro." Rinaldi's wines are living Barolo history and magic straight from the glass. They must be tasted to be understood, even though it's not always easy to access them due to their scarcity. Here on the marketplace, however, you can often be fortunate to find an extraordinary range of rare Barolos from Rinaldi, as well as their Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto, and Freisa for sale at auctions from private collectors.
The Story of Giuseppe Rinaldi
Behind the mythical walls of the Rinaldi family estate, located just on the outskirts of Barolo town, wines have been crafted for a lifetime that indisputably belong to the area's most distinguished yet down-to-earth and traditional. Giuseppe Rinaldi has always been among the area's greatest traditionalists and early pioneers, recognizing the region's potential by cultivating Nebbiolo, Barbera, and Dolcetto with a focus on quality over quantity. He was a crucial force in elevating the wines, especially Barolo, and simultaneously bringing the area to an unprecedented level of international recognition and demand.
This not only laid the groundwork for many more quality-focused winemakers in the region but also a new understanding of a more gentle approach in the vineyard and a careful focus on promoting not only the unique character of the Nebbiolo grape but also its reflection in different terroirs.
Despite currents of innovation and new trends dominating among several neighbors over the years, the so-called Barolo Boys, Giuseppe has never deviated from his philosophy of maintaining traditional production methods to create unmasked, true-to-nature wines of the highest quality.
After Giuseppe Rinaldi's death in 2018, his two daughters, Martha and Carlotta, took full responsibility for winemaking and vineyard work. However, it's far from new to them, with degrees as an Oenologist and Agronomist, and years of collaboration with Beppe in creating the wines. In other words, they have had complete control for many years, and if you ask us, the wines have never been better than now. Rinaldi's wines are a universe without comparison and are highly recommended to delve into.
Famous Barolo Wines from Giuseppe Rinaldi
The Rinaldi family owns 8.5 hectares of vineyards, cultivated organically. The approximately 6 hectares are Nebbiolo used to produce Barolo. The remaining are planted with various other local grape varieties, such as Barbera, Freisa, Dolcetto, and Grignolino, which the family either vinifies individually or blends into the "Namaste" Rosso wine.
Historically, the estate has produced 2 Barolo wines from 4 different single vineyards—Brunate, Le Coste, Cannubi San Lorenzo, and Ravera. All have been vinified separately. Brunate is used (with a small percentage from Le Coste—although not mentioned on the label) for the "single vineyard wine" Barolo Brunate, and the other three crus are blended into Barolo Tre Tine.
However, the Rinaldi family has recently started leasing a plot in the famous Bussia vineyard, specifically Bussia Sottana, from which they released the estate's 3rd Barolo with 2019 as the first vintage. A fantastic addition, counting as one of the most exciting innovations in Barolo for years.
Common to the production is the traditional philosophy, using large open barrels for natural fermentation followed by aging in large Slovenian botti grande, which are between 10-45 years old, to avoid any form of barrel influence in the wines.
All three Barolo wines, like Rinaldi's other wines, are characterized by being excessively elegant with enormous flavor complexity and concentration of fine, tightly packed aromas that just pour out of the glass exuding energy, nerve, and personality.
The notes in Rinaldi's Barolos range widely but are usually characterized by aromas such as red berries, cherries, pomegranate, rhubarb, floral water, fresh and dried flowers, lavender, fresh herbs, minerality, truffle, meat, mushrooms, forest floor, and the list could go on.
Annually, a total of only about 45,000 bottles are produced, depending on the vintage, which can be considered an extremely limited production, far from satisfying the enormous demand worldwide. Fortunately, you can find an exciting selection for sale on the marketplace directly from private wine enthusiasts' collections.