▻ David Gleave’s New Book, “Barolo and Barbaresco: The Primacy of the Vine”

Let's Talk About

12 Oct

Written By Sarah Kemp

Sarah Kemp in conversation with David Gleave

Episode Summary:-

Summary

Sarah Kemp talks to David Gleave about his new book, “Barolo and Barbaresco: The Primacy of the Vine,” just published by the Académie du Vin Library, and a hefty tome – 352 pages weighing in at 1.9kg. Sarah describes it as a phenomenal book, eloquently written, with great maps and evocative quotes from numerous winemakers; she predicts it will sweep the wine-writing awards.

David chose to concentrate on Barolo and Barbaresco in Italy’s northern Piedmont area, as he believes that it is a very complex region, with very much to discover. He notes that it has changed very much over the 40 years he has been visiting there, and that it is a region full of amazing stories. He also discusses how modern Barolo came about and cites Angelo Gaja above all as the one who put the region on the map.

He describes how the cru system in Burgundy inspired a generation of Piedmontese producers to reassess their vineyards, and discusses single vineyards versus blends and the subsequent improvement in wine quality as producers became more vineyard-focused. Another aspect he has given considerable space to is how the producers started to tame the tannins, for which Barolo is particularly well-known.

He also does not shy away from assessing some of the darker periods, notably the methanol scandal in the mid-1980s, when 20 people died from adulterated Barbera. The scandal depressed Italian sales by 25 percent, but the silver lining was that it encouraged more vintners to grow their own grapes.

In the chapter “The Great Vineyards”, he looks at the Menzioni Geografiche Aggiuntive (MGAs-additional geographical information) and reports that while Barbaresco is “pretty sensible” there is still some tweaking to be done for Barolo as some MGAs are too large to give true terroir definition.

One chapter in the book, a little lighter but certainly important and which Sarah welcomes, is “Eating in the Langhe.” David reveals his three favourite restaurants and assures Sarah he has visited every single restaurant listed.