Margheria

Margheria sits within the commune of Serralunga d'Alba, one of the five historic communes of the Barolo DOCG zone in Piedmont. The vineyard covers just 1.5 hectares and faces south-west, giving it strong afternoon sun exposure that supports full ripening of Nebbiolo. Elevation ranges from 280 to 340 meters, placing it in the mid-altitude band typical of Serralunga's hillside sites. Despite being in Serralunga, a commune often associated with powerful, tannic, long-lived Barolos, Margheria's particular soil composition gives it a character that tilts toward elegance and aromatic lift.

The soils at Margheria are calcareous in nature, composed of sand, limestone, and sandstone. This lighter, sandier composition within Serralunga d'Alba distinguishes Margheria from the heavier, more compact Helvetian soils found in parts of the same commune. Sandy calcareous soils generally produce wines with greater aromatic expressiveness and earlier accessibility than the dense Tortonian marl-dominated sites, contributing directly to Margheria's reputation for perfumed, elegant Barolo.

The Massolino family purchased the Margheria vineyard in the 1970s and went on to produce the first single-vineyard Barolo from this site in 1985. This early commitment to vineyard-designate bottling placed Massolino at the forefront of what would become a defining movement in Barolo's modern identity. Today, several producers hold and bottle from Margheria, including Luigi Pira, Azelia, and Franco Boasso, each offering their own interpretation of this small but distinguished site.

Barolo from Margheria is consistently described as light, perfumed, and aromatic, with an emphasis on elegance over raw power. This profile is somewhat atypical for Serralunga d'Alba, where the broader commune is celebrated for structured, austere, age-worthy wines built on firm tannins. The sandy calcareous soils and south-west aspect at Margheria soften that structural profile without sacrificing depth, producing Nebbiolo that expresses floral notes, red fruit, and fine tannins with good persistence.