Fontanafredda
A single-vineyard Barolo from Fontanafredda's historic Vigna La Villa parcel in the Paiagallo cru. Pure Nebbiolo aged 30 months in oak, it sets red-cherry fruit and dried-rose perfume against firm, sweet tannins and a chalky, savoury finish.
Vivino drinkers rate this Paiagallo cru 4.4 across 303 ratings, flagging leather, dried rose and red cherry. Fontanafredda's 30 months in oak frame a savoury, chalky core.
Classic Nebbiolo perfume: dried rose and violet over ripe red cherry and raspberry, with the leather, underbrush and forest-floor earthiness Vivino drinkers flag most. Wine Enthusiast adds mixed spice and dried flowers on the 2019, with cinnamon and incense surfacing across vintages.
Rose petal
Violet
Cherry
Raspberry
Tobacco
Leather
Cinnamon
LiquoriceMedium-bodied and savoury, with the firm, dusty Nebbiolo tannins and crisp acidity Wine Enthusiast noted, lifted by a tobacco-and-cedar edge from 30 months in oak. The producer calls the tannins sweet and the palate rich, and a crushed-chalk minerality runs underneath.
Long and grippy, closing on leather, liquorice and dried rose with a chalky, savoury cut, a Paiagallo signature that asks for food or a few years in the cellar.
A well-liked cru Barolo, 4.4 on Vivino across 303 ratings, that trades brute power for the fragrant, earthy elegance Fontanafredda intends from Vigna La Villa. The structured 2019 rewards cellaring while the 2020 gives earlier pleasure; a wine for Langhe classics and patient drinkers, not the everyday table.
UK listings track the 2019, 2020 and 2021 vintages between roughly 81 and 94 pounds a bottle. This single-vineyard Paiagallo Barolo sits above Fontanafredda's village and estate bottlings.
A single-vineyard Barolo near 85 pounds, this Nebbiolo leans to structured food matches and patient cellaring rather than everyday drinking.
High-acid, firm-tannined Nebbiolo is built for the table, needing fat and protein but rewarding them; strong for structured food matching, weaker for casual sipping.
Barolo DOCG mandates 38 months ageing, and this cru has the tannin, acidity and 30 months of oak to reward a decade or more, led by the 2019 and 2021.
A single-vineyard Barolo DOCG from a historic Langhe estate is a special-occasion and cellar-gift bottle, at home with a celebratory roast.
At roughly 81 to 94 pounds it sits a little above the Barolo median: a fair price for a single-vineyard cru from a benchmark estate, but not a bargain.
Scoring is rule-based and deterministic. The model and weightings are documented in our editorial methodology.
A compact view of what the Barolo denomination actually requires, and how this bottle sits inside it. Pulled from the official Italian disciplinare.
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The structured 2019 ranks in Vivino's top 4% of all wines, the 2020 drinks rounder and earlier, and the 2021 returns to a firmer, classic Langhe profile that asks for the cellar.
A return to a fresher, firmer Langhe profile after the warm 2020, with classic Nebbiolo grip and length. Best given time in the cellar from about 2027.
A warmer, more giving year. Wine Enthusiast read blackberry and black raspberry over an earthy, structured frame and rated it drink now to 2045. Rounder and more approachable young than the 2019.
A cool, classic Piedmont vintage of firm structure and bright acidity. Wine Enthusiast found crushed-chalk minerality over rounded tannins; the importer sheet suggests opening from 2027. Built for the cellar.
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.
Fruit comes from one 3.19-hectare parcel at 320 to 370 metres in the Paiagallo cru, farmed organically and aged 30 months in oak, costs a village Barolo never carries.
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.
Vigna La Villa is one named parcel at 320 to 370 m in Paiagallo, not a cross-village blend. Fruit from a fixed 3.19-hectare cru site caps volume and lifts price over Fontanafredda's village Barolo.
Barolo DOCG demands 38 months ageing; Fontanafredda holds this wine 30 months in oak and 8 in bottle, tying up cellar space and capital for over three years before a bottle is sold.
Fontanafredda has farmed organically since the 2018 harvest, the largest certified-organic estate in Piedmont. Lower-yield organic Nebbiolo costs more to grow than conventional fruit.
The Fontanafredda name and the Barolo DOCG seal carry brand and appellation premiums; the 2019 sits in Vivino's top 4% of all wines, supporting the 81 to 94 pound UK price.
UK alcohol duty on still wine (2.67 pounds a bottle at 14.5% ABV) plus 20% VAT account for about 17 pounds of the roughly 85 pound shelf price, before any retailer margin.
Paiagallo is respected but less famous than Cannubi or Brunate, and Fontanafredda's scale spreads cellar and bottling costs, holding this cru near 85 pounds rather than the 150-plus of boutique growers.
Dishes that complement this wine
Firm, sweet Nebbiolo tannins and bright acidity call for fat and protein. Brasato al Barolo, truffle tajarin and porcini risotto mirror the wine's earthy, leather-and-mushroom side.
Vigna La Villa carries firm, dusty Nebbiolo tannins that need protein and collagen to soften. Slow-braised beef, above all brasato cooked in Barolo itself, melts that grip into the meat's gelatin and turns tannin to silk.
Try with: Brasato al Barolo · Bollito dei Pastori · Ossobuco alla Milanese · More pairings →
Bright acidity and tannin scrape away marbled fat, refreshing the palate between bites of a rare, charred steak. The wine's savoury, leather-edged fruit echoes the seared crust.
Try with: Fiorentina steak · grilled ribeye · roast beef · More pairings →
Earthy leather, dried mushroom and forest-floor notes, the descriptors Vivino drinkers use most, bridge straight to Alba white truffle and porcini. Tajarin under shaved truffle is the Langhe's own answer to this wine.
Try with: Tajarin al Tartufo · Truffle risotto · Porcini mushroom risotto · More pairings →
A medium body and sweet, ripe tannin sit level with butter-dressed, meat-stuffed agnolotti del plin, the Piedmontese pasta from the wine's own hills. Neither part overwhelms the other.
Try with: Agnolotti del Plin · Tajarin al Tartufo · More pairings →
Hard, salty Alpine cheeses like Castelmagno and aged Toma soften the tannin and meet the wine's savoury depth, salt buffering grip the way fat does. Keep the cheese aged and firm, not creamy or blue.
Try with: Castelmagno · aged Toma · Parmigiano Reggiano
At 14.5% with firm tannins, the wine amplifies chilli burn and flattens delicate fish. Fiery curries, sweet-and-sour dishes and raw seafood pull against the Nebbiolo grip rather than with it.
Skip with: vindaloo · sweet-and-sour pork · sushi · grilled sardines · Pairing guide →
Barolo DOCG demands at least 38 months ageing, and this cru carries the tannin and acidity to reward a decade. The 2019 in particular calls for cellaring from 2027 toward the early 2040s.
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.
Barolo DOCG mandates 38 months ageing, and this cru has the tannin, acidity and 30 months of oak to reward a decade or more, led by the 2019 and 2021.
£81.41 is the lowest tracked offer for the current vintage and we have no signal of further discounting.
Read directly from each retailer’s public product page once a day. Last refresh: 7 Jun 2026, 15:23 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 · MediumIt is 100% Nebbiolo from the Vigna La Villa parcel of the Paiagallo cru in the village of Barolo. The single-vineyard site sits at 320 to 370 metres on silt, sand and clay soils.
Yes. It comes from one 3.19-hectare parcel inside the Paiagallo M.G.A. in Barolo, named after the royal farmstead at the foot of the slope, and is bottled as a cru distinct from Fontanafredda's village and estate Barolo.
It ferments with indigenous yeasts in steel, then ages 30 months in oak barrels followed by eight months in bottle before release, comfortably beyond the Barolo DOCG minimum of 38 months from harvest.
The structured 2019 rewards cellaring from about 2027, while the rounder 2020 drinks well now and holds toward 2042. Decant young bottles for an hour to soften the Nebbiolo tannins.
Classic Langhe dishes: brasato al Barolo, agnolotti del plin, tajarin with truffle and porcini risotto. Its tannin and acidity also cut through a Fiorentina steak and aged Piedmontese cheeses.
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