Since Alessandro Masnaghetti published his first book on Barolo in 2015, he has continued to relentlessly explore the Langhe's terroirs, produce3rs and wines.

Over the past eight years, he has published three more works–Barolo MGA Vol II, Barolo MGA Vol I 2nd Edition, and Barbaresco MGA–each book more exciting than the one before.

But Alessandro's first four books hardly prepared us for his latest effort, which we expect to arrive early next year.

Though he modestly titles it Barolo MGA Vol I 3rd Edition, it is actually a very different book from the first two editions.

His first two editions emphasize terroir, wine character and vineyard ownership, and he continues to build on that legacy, with the most beautiful and informative maps so far.

But for us, the real excitement is the shifting focus of Alessandro's research to the Barolos themselves. That is great news for us as collectors and consumers.

For the first time since Sheldon Wasserman first attempted it in 1991, we were starting to get a full picture of the history of Barolo bottlings. Organized by MGA (which is today's official name for a cru), Alessandro provides listings with dates and names of hundreds of different "cru" Barolos.

Some of these bottlings are well known to us, but it's great to know authoritatively the first vintage in which they were made.

Others are fascinating obscurities, such as some early Monfortinos labeled as coming from the Mosconi and Romagnaso crus! (It reminds us that, until 1974, Giacomo Conterno owned none of its own vineyards, and so its fruit sources, even for Monfortino, were likely to shift.)

This only scratches the surface of all the new information to be found in the 3rd Edition of Barolo MGA Vol. I. You'll need to get a copy for yourself.

For the next 10 days, you can pre-order postage-paid copies of Barolo MGA Vol. I 3rd Edition at a special pre-publication price (Expected arrival, Winer 2024). You will also receive a free one-year subscription to Alessandro Masnaghetti's www.barolomga360.it. 

Order by September 29th