Barolo: The Inside Word
Consumer tasting 1-3pm
Saturday October 17th
$55 per person
Book here
Vintage is well and truly underway in Piemonte! I was there in mid-September and the villages of Barolo are alive with activity.
While many producers already had Barbera and Dolcetto in the shed, many were about to start picking Nebbiolo while I was there. Our source on the ground (my girlfriend Eleonora) is working vintage at Giuseppe Rinaldi and is sharing regular updates. Rinaldi picked Nebbiolo across three separate Barolo sites between September 21-28.
Initial reports suggest that Rinaldi and others have been surprised and relieved at the quality of fruit coming through the door despite the hot and dry season. The resilience of the vine is strong… Time will tell how these wines turn out but perhaps we will be pleasantly surprised once we finally see the end results.
Pictures here are mainly from Rinaldi’s site in Bussia which has been the most challenging to pick due to the gradient of the slope but also the most rewarding and beautiful. Here the vines share their microclimate with wild mint and rocket. It is a picturesque amphitheatre. Known as one of the benchmark producers of the region, Eleonora was nonetheless amazed at the attention to detail in the vineyard and the level of knowledge possessed by sisters Carlotta and Marta Rinaldi. Vineyards are not assessed and treated row by row, they’re treated on a plant by plant basis.
One of many benefits of spending a month in Barolo as Eleonora is, is getting a bit of local insight into the wine market: which producers other winemakers look up to, which wines these people reach for at the end of the day, who is up and coming and a name to watch. A few names have come onto our radar for the very first time and we share them with you here…
Around the winery at Giuseppe Rinaldi, a producer that is spoken of quite highly is Elio Sandri. Based in Monforte, the vineyards are farmed organically and the wines made in a no-frills manner and raised in a slow and traditional method. We provide a concise producer biography below.
The other name that has popped up is Flavio Roddolo. Apparently these can even be hard to find in Piemonte, so having never heard of the producer myself, I started to understand why. Despite the scarcity, a small quality-focused Melbourne importer has these wines in his portfolio, so we are able to offer them below.
The third producer I’ll mention was more of a discovery of our own. Before flying home, Eleonora and I had lunch at Ristorante Antica Torre right in the heart of Barbaresco. Keen to find a producer on the list we were not familiar with, we landed on a bottle of Carlo Giacosa Barbaresco Montefico 2021. A few things drew us in: the great vintage, the reputable cru and the famous surname (family ties go back to the fame Bruno Giacosa estate) all suggested that this wine was worth a try. We were thrilled with what we tasted – my note below.
Finally, Vaira Aurelj is a name that keeps appearing on the ‘one to watch’ list. They are not to be confused with their close (and much larger) neighbours Vajra located in the same village. These wines are offered down the page.
On Saturday October 17th we will open six of these wines for tasting. This is a tasting for Five Way Cellars staff as much as it is for customers. In many cases, this will be our first look at some of these wines. If you’re intrigued to discover something new in Piemonte, please join us. The tasting will be casual but ticketed. Come any time between 1-3pm. Tickets are $55 and can be booked here or paid for on the door. This is what we’ll open:
Carlo Giacosa Barbaresco Montefico 2021
Elio Sandri Langhe Nebbiolo 2023
Elio Sandri Barolo Perno 2019
Flavio Roddolo Nebbiolo D'Alba 2015
Flavio Roddolo Barolo 2015
Vaira Aurelj Nebbiolo 'Fuorizona' 2023
Ches Cook, Five Way Cellars.
The following wines are all available to order. Email the shop to express your interest: info@fivewaycellars.com.au
Elio Sandri
Monforte, Piemonte
Elio Sandri is one of Barolo’s most quietly singular traditionalists, working from Cascina Disa, his family’s small estate in the Perno cru of Monforte d’Alba. His father Giovanni acquired the property in 1965, and Elio took responsibility at a young age, vinifying his first vintage in 1981. Today around 7.5 hectares of vines surround the family home & cellar, including old Nebbiolo vineyards whose roots reach back to plantings from 1937.
Cascina Disa lies on the cooler eastern side of Perno, toward Serralunga, where blue marl and sandy layers of the ancient Lequio Formation underpin predominantly south- and east-facing slopes. Elio farms organically and with extraordinary restraint, disturbing the soil as little as possible and allowing the vineyard to find its own natural balance.
The same philosophy continues in the cellar. Fermentations are spontaneous, largely in cement, followed by long ageing in old Slavonian botti, with the élevage determined by the character of each vintage rather than by a fixed formula. The wines are neither fined nor filtered and sulphur use is minimal. Time is perhaps Elio’s most important tool. The result is Barolo in a deeply traditional sense — structured, savoury and built to age, yet capable of remarkable perfume, freshness and transparency. That same sensitivity extends well beyond Barolo. Elio’s Dolcetto and Langhe Nebbiolo are serious, distinctive wines in their own right.
Jaunis Bianco, Ciman Rosso and Minium Rosato reveal a more exploratory side to Cascina Disa, sitting outside the traditional Barolo mould while remaining unmistakably Elio. Rather than departures from his philosophy, they are another expression of it. These are wines without polish or artifice, shaped slowly by Perno, the vintage and a grower who has spent more than four decades learning when to intervene and, equally importantly, when to leave well enough alone.
Elio Sandri Langhe Nebbiolo 2023
Single Bottle Price: $110
Dozen Bottle Price: $99
"The 2023 Langhe Nebbiolo is a super-potent wine that will rival (or surpass) wines from more prestigious appellations. Dark fruit, intensely balsamic overtones and huge tannins shape a serious Langhe Nebbiolo that delivers the goods. Drinking window: 2023-2030.” Antonio Galloni, Vinous.
Elio Sandri Barolo Perno 2019
Single Bottle Price: $220
Dozen Bottle Price: $198
The 2019 Barolo Perno is a gorgeous, delicate wine. Aromatic and light on its feet, with lovely complexity, the 2019 is a total delight. Orange peel, dried herbs, mint, spice, sage and kirch are all finely cut in this haunting, ethereal Barolo. The acid profile and tannins are those of a Barolo that needs at least a few years in bottle to be at its finest. Antonio Galloni, Vinous.
Flavio Roddolo
Monforte, Piemonte
“Roddolo is man of few words and reserved expression, but his wines speak for themselves with grand eloquence. Do whatever you can to taste the wines of Flavio Roddolo”
– Antonio Galloni, Vinous.
Flavio Roddolo is one of the last remaining truly genuine winegrowers in Piedmont. A reclusive farmer, untouched by fashion or fad, he quietly tends his six hectares. From his old farmhouse in the Bricco Appiani hills, he continues the methods of his father. The 2025 vintage will mark his 58th harvest from these same slopes.
His old vines, farmed without chemicals for more than 40 years, produce wines defined by long macerations, natural fermentations, slow maturation in cement and well-worn oak, and extended bottle ageing—released only when he judges them ready, often up to a decade beyond DOCG requirements. His Barbera and Dolcetto shine with depth, carrying an uncommon ability to age, and are among his most sought-after bottles, while his Bricco Appiani Cabernet—an unlikely wine—is among his rarest and most prized. His Nebbiolo d’Alba rivals many Barolos for complexity and drive, and his Barolo ‘Ravera di Monforte’—from a southeast facing vineyard encircled by forest—is renowned for its haunting perfume and refined tannins.
Production is tiny, and his wines remain among Piedmont’s last true traditionalist treasures—singular, soulful, and capable of profound evolution. For years, a loyal circle of ‘Roddolistas’ have quietly and eagerly secured his late-release bottles, valued as much for their character as for their relative affordability given the rarity of such aged wines. Now 77 years old, with no immediate family, the future of Roddolo’s vineyards and winery is uncertain. These wines remain a rare opportunity to experience the work of a true Piedmontese artisan— before it is too late.
Flavio Roddolo Nebbiolo D'Alba 2015
Single Bottle Price: $170
Dozen Bottle Price: $153
No note as yet.
Flavio Roddolo Barolo 2015
Single Bottle Price: $330
Dozen Bottle Price: $297
Winemaking: From vines aged 30 to 40 years, harvested in the third week of October. Fermented
for 25 days in stainless steel, followed by 24 months in various-sized oak barrels, with no
new oak. Neither fined nor filtered.
Carlo Giacosa
Barbaresco, Piemonte
Carlo Giacosa is a traditional, family-run Barbaresco estate with roots in the village stretching back four generations. Carlo Giacosa, son of Donato Giacosa — one of the founding members of the Produttori del Barbaresco cooperative —developed the family estate in the 1960s, establishing its own Barbaresco production and acquiring vineyards in some of the area’s most respected sites, including Asili, Montefico and Ovello. Today, the winery is run by Carlo’s daughter Maria Grazia and grandson Luca, with around five hectares of vineyards devoted to producing highly site-expressive Nebbiolo. The Giacosa name is also closely associated with the legendary Bruno Giacosa, although the two estates are separate branches of the wider Giacosa family. Bruno Giacosa, based in nearby Neive, became one of Piedmont’s most celebrated producers and was an important pioneer of single-vineyard Barbaresco, helping establish the international reputation of the region’s great crus. The Carlo Giacosa estate shares this broader family heritage of meticulous vineyard selection, traditional winemaking and a strong emphasis on expressing the character of Barbaresco’s historic sites.
Carlo Giacosa Barbaresco Montefico 2021
Single Bottle Price: $235
Dozen Bottle Price: $211.50
Sitting down for lunch at Ristorante Antica Torre in the town of Barbaresco, we thought we’d drink something we didn’t recognise. Carlo Giacosa Barbaresco Montefico 2021 stood out to us. Giacosa is a famous name in Piemonte and on top of that, the wine was from a cracking vintage and the vineyard site of Montefico has produced great wines for other producers we have loved such as La Ca Nova and of course Produttori del Barbaresco. The wine was fantastic: medium bodied, open and approachable and red-fruited in it’s flavour spectrum. I would call it fairly ‘classic’ Barbaresco with a taut back-palate and ripe and fine tannin to close. It was the mid-palate though where there is real enjoyment. The core of fruit here gives plenty of generosity as well as a slightly meaty/gamey component which brought plenty of interest. The aromatics got better and better over the course of lunch. This was basically a thoroughly enjoyable bottle of wine with drinking pleasure and complexity/structure all in good measure. I was thrilled to find it imported into Australia once home, so here we are offering it to you here. – Ches Cook, Five Way Cellars.
Carlo Giacosa Barbaresco 2021
Single Bottle Price: $170
Dozen Bottle Price: $153
No note as yet.
Vaira Aurelj
Barolo, Piemonte
Vaira Aurelj is the small, deeply personal estate of brothers Francesco Coco and Giacomo Vaira, based in Vergne on the western edge of Barolo. Named for their late father Aurelio, the project grew from the family vineyards, with the brothers building the estate gradually before making their first tiny vinifications in 2019. Today they farm just 4.35 hectares of high-altitude vineyards on limestone and clay-rich soils across Vergne. Farming is organic though uncertified, with cover crops and no synthetic chemical treatments. Their philosophy is firmly agricultural: vineyard work comes first, while spontaneous fermentation and restrained cellar work aim simply to preserve the character of the land. Though still in its earliest years, Vaira Aurelj is increasingly recognised as one of Barolo's most exciting emerging estates. Decanter’s Michaela Morris included Vaira Aurelj among Piedmont’s up-and-coming producers and called 'Fuorizona' 2023 the best wine she had tasted from this promising young estate. Susan Hulme MW has likewise praised the wines as delightfully charming yet characterful and highlighted the promise of the brothers’ first Barolo. Production remains tiny, but Vaira Aurelj is already firmly a name to watch.
Vaira Aurelj Langhe Nebbiolo 2024
Single Bottle Price: $68
Dozen Bottle Price: $61.20
100% Nebbiolo, Lampia clone, from a tiny 0.30-hectare vineyard in Vergne at 330 metres, planted on calcareous-clay soils. Farmed organically though uncertified, with cover crops and no pesticides or synthetic chemical treatments. The 2024 fruit was fully destemmed due to the rainy conditions, then spontaneously fermented with ambient yeasts and aged for nine months in concrete, followed by a further six months in bottle. The result is a pure, transparent expression of Nebbiolo, with concrete preserving freshness and perfume without adding the influence of oak.
Vaira Aurelj Nebbiolo 'Controcorrente' 2023
Single Bottle Price: $115
Dozen Bottle Price: $103.50
Nebbiolo Rose clone from a tiny 0.5-hectare vineyard in Vergne, planted on calcareous-clay soils at 390 metres. Hand harvested, with a portion of whole bunch retained depending on the vintage, then naturally fermented in open vats. Soft pressed, with malolactic fermentation in oak, followed by nine months in used Slavonian oak tonneaux. Bottled without fining or filtration. Controcorrente means ‘against the tide’.
Vaira Aurelj Nebbiolo 'Fuorizona' 2023
Single Bottle Price: $160
Dozen Bottle Price: $144
Fuorizona translates literally as outside the zone: Nebbiolo from a tiny Vergne vineyard lying just beyond the official Barolo DOCG boundary. Nebbiolo Lampia clone from the 0.6-hectare San Pozio vineyard in Vergne, on calcareous-clay soils with sand at 350 metres. Hand harvested and fermented as 100% whole berries without crushing, with 50% submerged cap, using native yeasts in stainless steel and concrete. Aged for 12 months in large Slavonian oak, followed by six months in concrete and at least six months in bottle before release. Unfined and unfiltered.