Fontanafredda, Barolo DOCG, 1978

1978 was a great vintage for Piedmont and Fontanafedda made the best of this, producing an excellent wine with great depth and structure. The fruit has faded a little during maturation but this wine has retained beautiful tannins and still provides tones of plum jam, tobacco and spices.

In 1967 the Barolo obtained the DOC appellation requiring that the wine be produced within the Barolo region using defined methods and that it satisfies a defined quality standard. This was later changed to DOCG in 1992, which was intended to be a new, more restrictive identification. The notable difference for wines is that DOCG labelled wines are analysed and tasted by government–licensed personnel before being bottled. To prevent later manipulation, DOCG wine bottles are then sealed with a numbered governmental seal across the cap or cork.