The history of the Giuseppe Rinaldi winery began in the mid-1800s when Battista Rinaldi, after years of work as a farmer, engaged in the vineyards of Marquises Falletti di Barolo, at the extinction of this family, managed to buy, with many sacrifices, some of those plots, in areas of great value such as Brunate, Le Coste, Ravera and Cannubi San Lorenzo. Battista’s intention was simply to cultivate the vine and sell the grapes produced, but his son Giuseppe convinced him to try the road of winemaking and bottling on his own and, in 1920 (finally), officially founded the Cantina Giuseppe Rinaldi. Since then the winery has passed from father to son, from Giuseppe to Battista (grandson of the homonymous patriarch), from Battista again to a Giuseppe, called Beppe, and from Beppe, after his untimely death in 2018, to Martha and her sister Carlotta.
Despite the skill and competence with which Marta Rinaldi has fallen into this new role of responsibility, it would be ungenerous not to mention the importance for the winery of his father Beppe, given that his wines, in the forty years between the 20th and 21st centuries, represented one of the highest expressions of Langa wines. I never imagined that this man would pass away so soon when I bought the 2011 vintage of “his” Barolo Tre Tine, born from the belief that the “real” Barolo was the one born from the assembly of grapes from different parcels, in different areas (today we would say MGA). Barolo Tre Tine was in fact called until 2009 Barolo Cannubi San Lorenzo – Ravera indicating much more clearly its origin from two famous MGA of Barolo (Cannubi and San Lorenzo) and an equally famous MGA of Novello (Ravera). Despite the name change, what has not changed is the “recipe” of this wine whose grapes, manually harvested, in slight over-ripeness, were vinified in truncated vats, with spontaneous fermentation, without temperature control or inoculation of exogenous yeasts, and the addition of very small amounts of sulfur dioxide. After a month maceration, always without control of the temperature, the wine has aged in large oak barrels for about 42 months before bottling, before another 6 months of rest in the bottle, and before marketing.
This vintage shows a pale ruby color with a brick color nail, with an olfactory fan that opens on notes of black cherry, wild blackberry, bark and carob, followed by orange peel, pot pourri, powder and vinyl, with concluding echoes of dry mushroom, black olive and medium roasted tobacco. The palate highlights an elegant fruity softness that manages to remain fresh and smooth thanks to a tasty citrine component, and a tannin now perfectly integrated; all enriched by the return of ripe red fruit and spices that accompany the sip until an endless closing.
Rating: 94/100
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