Giacomo Brezza e Figli · Barolo DOCG · 2018
Barolo 2018
The Wine
Traditional Barolo at Its Most Honest
Wine Enthusiast, 93 Points
"Enticing varietal aromas of small red berry, rose, camphor and dark spice. Full-bodied and elegant, featuring ripe Marasca cherry, licorice and suggestions of almond liqueur framed in firm but polished tannins. Fresh acidity keeps it balanced."
Vinous, 89 Points
"A very pretty entry level wine from Brezza. Floral, spiced and lifted, absolutely gorgeous."
2018
2018
Community
| Grape | 100% Nebbiolo Lampia |
| Appellation | Barolo DOCG |
| Vintage | 2018 |
| Communes | Barolo, Monforte d'Alba, Novello |
| Altitude | 300 meters |
| Soil | Clay-silt, sand, and silt |
| Planting Density | 3,700 plants/hectare |
| Drinking Window | 2025–2030 |
| Production | 7,000–10,000 bottles/year |
| Critical Recognition | WE 93 / Vinous 89 |
The Producer
Enzo Brezza: Godson of Bartolo Mascarello
The Brezza estate has been rooted in Barolo village since 1885. Giacomo Brezza and his father Antonio produced the first estate-bottled wine in 1910, a half-century before the modern Barolo DOCG existed. The estate has passed through four generations without interruption or ownership change.
Fourth-generation winemaker Enzo Brezza (first vintage 1989) trained under his father Oreste, but his philosophical formation came from his godfather and uncle Bartolo Mascarello. The man whose wine labels read "No Barrique No Berlusconi" and who embodied traditionalist Barolo's refusal to chase critical fashion. That inheritance is not abstract at Brezza; it is expressed in every decision made in the cellar.
Brezza converted to ICEA-certified organic farming in 2015 (process begun 2010), formalizing a commitment to low-intervention viticulture that had always been implicit in their work. The family also operates a hotel and restaurant in Barolo village, a full-expression agriturismo in the Piedmontese tradition.
The village Barolo draws from parcels in three communes: Barolo, Monforte d'Alba, and Novello. This multi-commune composition accesses the fuller, more structured soils of Monforte d'Alba (calcareous-rich Helvetian sediments) alongside the lighter, sandier character of Barolo proper, giving the wine breadth that a single-commune wine cannot achieve.
At 7,000–10,000 bottles per year, the village Barolo is the most accessible entry into the Brezza range. It is the wine that answers the question: what does traditional Barolo actually taste like, made by someone who learned from the best? The answer is in the glass.
In the Cellar
Spontaneous Fermentation. Two Years. Botti Only.
| Harvest | Manual, October |
| Fermentation | Spontaneous, indigenous yeasts only |
| Maceration | 7–10 days (shorter than Cannubi selection) |
| Aging | 2 years in Slavonian oak botti, 1,500–3,000L |
| Oak Influence | Zero, large neutral vessels only |
| Bottle Aging | Minimum 1 year before release |
| Fining | None |
| Filtration | None |
| Closure | Glass stopper (adopted ~2015) |
| Alcohol | 14.5% |
The spontaneous fermentation approach requires nerve. Without commercial yeast strains, the fermentation timeline is less predictable, the outcomes less uniform vintage to vintage, and the results are wines that genuinely reflect the year they came from. The 2018 vintage in Barolo was warm enough to achieve full phenolic ripeness without the heat stress that affected 2017, and cool enough to preserve the floral aromatics that define world-class Nebbiolo. Wine Enthusiast's 93-point score reflects a vintage that delivered on both fronts.
The Slavonian oak botti at 1,500–3,000 liters provide a surface-area-to-volume ratio that allows for gentle oxidation without flavor extraction. Brezza does not use barrique. Brezza does not use new oak of any kind. The vessel is a container for aging, nothing more. It was good enough for Bartolo Mascarello; it is good enough here.
At the Table
Piedmontese Classics
- Brasato al Barolo, braised beef in red wine, the definitive Piedmontese pairing
- Tajarin pasta with white truffle (November through January)
- Castelmagno DOP. The crumbly, intensely flavored Piedmontese mountain cheese
- Vitello tonnato and roast veal
- Wild boar or pappardelle with hare ragù
- Osso buco alla milanese with gremolata
The 2018 Vintage in Barolo
A Producer's Vintage
The 2018 growing season was warm and dry in Barolo, with a cooler final period before harvest that allowed the aromatic compounds to fully develop without sacrificing freshness. For traditional producers like Brezza who rely on extended natural fermentation rather than technological intervention, the vintage's natural ripeness was a gift: the tannins resolved cleanly, and the wine's characteristic floral lift remained intact.
Wine Enthusiast awarded a consistent 93 points to both the 2018 and 2021 vintages, evidence of a stylistic throughline that doesn't depend on exceptional conditions to perform.
Why This Wine Matters
Brezza is one of those rare estates where four generations of family commitment actually shows in the glass. Enzo Brezza learned to make wine from his father, and his godfather was Bartolo Mascarello. The man who famously put "No Barrique No Berlusconi" on his wine labels. That philosophy is alive in every Brezza bottle: no new oak, no filtration, no compromise.
The 2018 vintage in Barolo was a gift, warm enough to achieve full phenolic ripeness, cool enough to preserve the floral aromatics that define great Nebbiolo. This is traditional Barolo made by a family with 140 years in the ground, an honest expression of what the King of Italian wines is supposed to taste like.
Trade Materials
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