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The wine cellars history
The Cellars of Marchesi di Barolo are located in the village of Barolo, overlooking the castle of the Marquis Falletti.
In fact, the building which today houses the winery also belonged to the Marquis Falletti and became, upon the extinction of this prestigious dynasty, the site of the charitable foundation called Opera Pia Barolo.
La Marchesa Giulia Vittorina Colbert di Maulévrier
The Marquise Giulia Vittorina Colbert di Maulévrier, great-grandaughter of the Finance Minister to the Sun King, was born in the Maulévrier Castle in Vandee, France, June 26, 1786 and, in 1806 in Paris, married the Marquis Carlo Tancredi di Barolo.
Once settled in the Palazzo Barolo in Turin, Giulia and her husband worked incessantly to realize ambitious projects geared towards helping the city’s most needy.
In his book “The Land of Barolo,” Cannon Domenico Massè refers to: “...that type of wine, that goes today by the name of Barolo, made by the Marchesi of Barolo at the beginning of the 1800s, which they produced with all due care on their vast estate at Barolo… In addition to the Marchesi Falletti, another person who made a major contribution to the fame of Barolo was Count Camillo Benso di Cavour, who brought Count Louis Odart to his castle at Grinzane to fabricate the famous Barolo that he served at his diplomatic lunches to the inevitable delight and admiration of his discerning guests”.
Commendator Emilio Pietro Abbona
With the demise of Marquise Giulia Colbert di Maulèvrier in 1864, the line of the Falletti of Barolo came to an end, but her legacy was perpetuated by the still-extant charitable foundation Opera Pia Barolo. At about this very same time, Pietro Abbona was born and, in 1895, began working in the family’s winecellars in Barolo. Thanks to his hard work, tenacity and skill, he was eventually able to acquire the cellars of the Marchesi di Barolo estate, along with the vineyards and the La Volta Castle.
Thus Massimo Martinelli, in his book Barolo As I Know It, says: “Of the personages connected with the name Barolo, some may be considered of historic importance, real and true pioneers...(of these) people first place goes to Pietro Abbona, undisputed patriarch of Barolo...who, as an unquestionable stand-bearer, made the wine of his region known throughout the world. It was from his winery that Barolo made its first historic steps. His large wood casks (some of which one can still be admired today in the cellars in Barolo) were in fact part of the legacy of the Marquise Falletti. Commendatore Abbona inheredited a longstanding tradition, a love of the vineyards, the wineries and wine itself, and he brought his label displaying the castles of Barolo and Serralunga to the furthest tables. And it is with pleasure that we recall this great contribution.” |
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