Whether to drink now or cellar to enjoy its imminent, spectacular maturity, has suddenly become a no-brainer. Thanks to the superb vintages spanning 1995 through 2000, Italy’s noblest red wine is enjoying unprecedented prestige.
Barolo is an Italian wine, one of many to claim the title “Wine of kings, and king of wines”. It is produced in Cuneo’s province, south-west of Alba, within the southern end of Piemonte. Barolo borrows its name from the small hamlet (population 760) that lies near the center of the wine’s growing zone. The zone itself …

Tucked away in the hills of Langhe, traditionally the source of Piedmont’s (some say Italy’s) best wines, is the hamlet of Barolo. Less than an hour’s drive from Turin, the area is nestled among winding roads and chestnut forests and dotted with medieval castles.
This quiet landscape hardly sounds like the setting for momentous events in the Italian wine world, but that’s what is taking place. Back in the 1980s, the much-hyped “Barolo Boys,” a group of young winemakers, revolutionized the area’s winemaking. The next generation of Barolo producers comprises mainly …