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Nebbiolo from Brunate, the La Morra hill Marcarini has bottled by name since 1958. Old-school Barolo: four weeks on the skins, two years in big Slavonian casks. Rose, tar, cherry and tobacco. About 9,500 bottles a year, from £69.
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Nine and a half thousand bottles a year, from one plot of about six football pitches. It runs from La Morra down into Barolo itself.
Dried rose and tar come first, the pair that marks old-school Barolo. Behind them sit sour cherry, tobacco leaf and the mountain hay Marcarini names on its own sheet. Drinkers reach for leather and forest floor more often than for fruit. There is vanilla too, though the wine only ever sees big old casks.
Rose petal
Cherry
Tobacco
Tar
Forest Floor
Hay
Leather
Liquorice
VanillaThe tannins are firm but fine, drawn out by four weeks on the skins. Acidity runs high and keeps the wine light on its feet, so 14% alcohol never feels heavy. It tastes dry and savoury rather than sweetly fruited, with a medium body. The wine then spends two years in big old Slavonian casks, which soften the grip without leaving any oak flavour.
The finish is long and dry, with tar, dried rose and a lick of liquorice. Marcarini calls it velvety, and after ten years in bottle that is fair.
This is the top wine of the house, and only about 9,500 bottles are made each year. Drinkers score it 4.0 out of 5 across 3,884 Vivino ratings, and praise the way it ages. Buy the 2009 to drink tonight and the 2021 to put away. It suits someone who wants Barolo with grip and perfume, not soft modern fruit.
The 2019 is the one to buy today, at £69 a bottle. The 2021 sells for closer to £90 in Italy, and the 2009 turns up now and then from fine wine merchants.
It scores high for food and for keeping, and low for everyday drinking at £69 and up.
High acidity and firm tannin cut through fat, which is why the estate points to braised beef and aged cheese.
The importer puts the ageing potential at 20 years or more, and 2004 bottles were still fresh in 2023.
Barolo is the grandest red of Piedmont, and Brunate is one of its oldest named hills.
At £69 for the 2019 it undercuts most single-hill Barolo, and the 2021 was ranked fourth in Italy by James Suckling.
Firm tannin and a dry, savoury finish. Lovely wine, but not the easiest first red.
At £69 a bottle this is not a weeknight red, and the young vintages want food and time.
Scoring is rule-based and deterministic. The model and weightings are documented in our Wine Fit Score methodology.
A compact view of what the Barolo denomination actually requires, and how this bottle sits inside it. Pulled from the official Italian disciplinare.
The 2009 was a warm year and drinks now. The 2019 is the classic one, built to last. James Suckling put the 2021 fourth in his Top 100 Wines of Italy 2025.
2021 was one of the most balanced years in the Langhe for a while. James Suckling ranked this bottle fourth in his Top 100 Wines of Italy 2025. Give it until the late 2020s.
The growers' body called 2019 a classic year with good structure and long life. This one has the grip and the acidity to prove it. Drink it now with food, or keep it into the 2040s.
2009 was hot in late July and August, and the wines came out softer and readier than usual. Antonio Galloni scored this bottle 94 and said it would drink well straight away. Seventeen years on, it is at its best now.
2021 was one of the most balanced years in the Langhe for a while. James Suckling ranked this bottle fourth in his Top 100 Wines of Italy 2025. Give it until the late 2020s.
Drink-now / hold guidance reflects general style cues for this wine, not a forecast for a specific bottle. Where vintage-level editorial notes exist, they appear above.
Marcarini put the Brunate name on a label in 1958, years before single vineyards were normal in Barolo. The family helped found the Barolo and Barbaresco growers' body in 1934.
Italian wine law sorts bottles into a pyramid. DOCG sits at the top: tightly drawn boundaries, prescribed grapes, mandatory ageing, government tasting before release. DOC is the same idea with looser thresholds. IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) is broader still, requiring only that 85% of the grapes come from the named territory.
Barolo is in the DOCG tier. That is not a quality verdict, it is a description of how much freedom the producer has at vinification and ageing.
Barolo falls within Piedmont, covering Cuneo, Langhe: Barolo, Castiglione Falletto, Serralunga d'Alba, La Morra, Monforte d'Alba, Novello, Verduno, Grinzane Cavour, Diano d'Alba, Cherasco, Roddi. The denomination is further divided into 11 sub-zones.
Wine route
2 days · 7 stops
Open the drive
Winery
La Morra
Made at Azienda Agricola Poderi Marcarini, La Morra. Directions
Wine route in the zone: Langhe Nebbiolo Route.
Brunate is one of the oldest named hills in Barolo, and this estate owns a small slice of it. Small volumes from a famous site push the price up.
Two years in big Slavonian casks, six months in steel and six more in bottle. The estate carries the cost of that stock long before a bottle sells.
Duty on a 14% still wine is about £3.20 a bottle, and VAT takes £11.50 on a £69 sale. That is nearly £15 before the wine itself.
James Suckling placed the 2021 fourth in his Top 100 Wines of Italy 2025. A score like that lifts what a bottle fetches.
At £69 this sits well under the big Barolo names. Reviewers keep calling it old-style Barolo at a fair price.
Dishes that go with this wine
The estate points to braised beef, game and aged cheese. High acidity and firm tannin are why those work.
Tannin binds to fat and protein, so a long-braised joint takes the grip off the wine. This tannin is firm rather than soft, and it wants that fat. Brasato al Barolo exists for exactly this reason.
Try with: Brasato al Barolo · Bollito dei Pastori · Ossobuco alla Milanese · Lamb shank · More pairings →
Acidity resets the palate after a rich, buttery plate. Tajarin dressed in butter and white truffle can flatten a soft wine. This one stays lively right through it.
Try with: Tajarin al Tartufo · Truffle risotto · Agnolotti del Plin · Porcini mushroom risotto · More pairings →
The wine smells of dried rose, tar and forest floor as it ages. Those notes sit alongside mushrooms and game rather than fighting them. It is a match of smell, not of weight.
Try with: Porcini mushroom risotto · Truffle risotto · Tajarin al Tartufo · Venison Stew · More pairings →
Barolo from La Morra is more perfumed and less heavy than the wine from Serralunga d'Alba. At 14% it matches roast meat without flattening it. Reach for it with birds and lamb.
Try with: Duck breast · Rack of lamb · Lamb chops · Roast Duck · More pairings →
Salt in an aged cheese softens tannin and makes the wine taste rounder. The estate's own note points to aged cheese. Keep to hard, nutty styles rather than blues.
Try with: Cheese board · Pecorino sardo e pan carasau · Strong cheddar cheese
Heat and sweetness both make firm tannin taste harder and more bitter. A chilli-hot or sugary sauce turns this wine dry and metallic. Save it for savoury food.
Skip with: Crispy chilli beef · Szechuan beef · Lamb bhuna · Cheesecake · Pairing guide →
The importer puts the ageing potential at 20 years or more. Bottles from 2004 were still drinking well in 2023.
Peak around 2034. Best in the years above; holds without falling over either side.
A short splash decant softens the first-pour edge and opens the aromatics.
Aim for the cooler end on a warm day; warmer end opens up more aromatics.
The importer puts the ageing potential at 20 years or more, and 2004 bottles were still fresh in 2023.
£69.00 for a 75cl bottle of the 2019, at Xtrawine, is the best price we track, and we have no signal of further discounting.
Read directly from each retailer’s public product page once a day. Last refresh: 27 Sep 2026, 02:19 BST. We do not hold stock and we do not accept payment for placement.
Confidence · HighDrawn from what drinkers consistently report on Vivino and Wine-Searcher, summarised in our own words. A crowd read across many tasters, not a single critic.
Confidence · MediumFrom the official Italian disciplinare for this denomination, cross-checked against the Ministry of Agriculture register.
Confidence · HighOur reading of the price, drawn from the disciplinare, public UK duty rates, and typical landed-cost benchmarks. Not a quote from the producer or a retailer.
Confidence · MediumStyle guidance for this kind of wine at this price point. Treat it as advice, not a forecast for the bottle in your hand.
Confidence · MediumDried rose, tar, sour cherry and tobacco, with firm tannin and high acidity. It is dry and savoury rather than fruity. The estate's own note adds mountain hay and undergrowth.
Buy the 2009 to drink tonight, the 2019 for a classic Barolo to keep, and the 2021 to cellar. James Suckling ranked the 2021 fourth in his Top 100 Wines of Italy 2025.
Twenty years or more, says the importer's sheet. Bottles from 2004 were still drinking well in 2023. The 2021 will not show its best before the early 2030s.
Brunate is a hill in La Morra that runs down into the village of Barolo. The Marcarini plot faces south and sits at 300 metres. The soil is chalky clay with a lot of magnesium in it.
The 2019 is £69 here, well under most named-hill Barolo. Only about 9,500 bottles are made a year. Reviewers call it old-style Barolo at a fair price.
Braised beef, game and hard aged cheese. Butter and truffle dishes work too, because the acidity stops the plate feeling heavy. Avoid chilli heat and sweet sauces.
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