Barolo DOCG - Tre Tine - Giuseppe Rinaldi 2017

The domain

Giuseppe Rinaldi is an Italian producer from the Piedmontese sub-region of Barolo, where some of the wines made from Nebbiolo the most revered and precious in Italy. The Rinaldi family has generations of wine-related history in the region, originally selling grapes to the pioneering Falletti family. In 1870 the Rinaldi family opened a winery, but Giuseppe Rinaldi branched out and bought his own facility, as well as plots in some of Barolo's best vineyards in the 1920s. Rinaldi's grandson, also Giuseppe, took over the estate in 1992.

Giuseppe Rinaldi represents staunchly traditionalist views on winemaking that have brought the estate into conflict with the Barolo Consortium. More importantly, the estate has always maintained that the best Barolo wines have always been multi-site blends, rather than the currently fashionable single-vineyard expression.

Rinaldi's best-known wines were blends from Brunate and Le Coste, and from the Cannubi and Ravera vineyards respectively, and were labeled as such. However, Italian law passed in 2009 restricted labels to one or no designated vineyard, requiring at least 85% of the fruit to come from the named vineyard. Giuseppe Rinaldi strongly opposed these changes.

Due to the law, Rinaldi is now producing two new wines from the 2010 vintage: Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate, which uses the maximum allowed 15% fruit from the Le Coste vineyard, and Tre Tine, a blend of grapes from by Le Coste, Cannubi and Ravera.

Rinaldi eschewed more "modern" Barolo trends, such as the use of French barrels or shorter fermentation times. Therefore, the wines require long aging to master their high tannins.

Rinaldi's portfolio also includes a Nebbiolo des Langhe, a Barbera d'Alba and a red wine from Freisa, a little-known indigenous grape variety from Piedmont.

Always so outspoken, Giuseppe Rinaldi died in September 2018 at the age of 69. His wife Annalisa and his two daughters, Marta and Carlotta (respectively winemaker and viticulturist) now run the estate.