Barolo’s geographical indications (so called MGAs) are Italian wine drinker’s best friends — not only in the cult Barolo areas of Piemonte. In anticipation of the third edition of Alessandro Masnaghetti’s book Barolo MGA, I spoke with Gianni Gagliardo, the co-owner of the Gianni Gagliardo estate in La Morra, and asked him to explain the essence and significance of MGA (Menzione Geografica Aggiuntiva) to the general drinking public. Here’s what Stefano had to say.
“Generally, MGA is a very important tool for Langhe wines and Barolo. Why? Because this concept fits perfectly into the region’s geography. The Nebbiolo grape by its nature is very sensitive to the soils and exposure of each plot of land and excellently transfers the terroir’s character into the wine and into our glass. Thanks to this characteristic of the grape for several centuries now, there has been an understanding of the properties of different plots that produce wines with very recognizable characteristics. At some point in history people began to think about creating some kind of official map with such definitions and descriptions. Detailed discussions began in the 1990s.
The system of MGAs has a very important distinction from other wine “classifications” like that of Burgundy. Here, unlike others, nobody says what plots and subzones are better or worse. Firstly, it’s a personal preferences, but also the notions of “worse-better” evolve with time. The de-facto absence of “classification” in the MGA system as such is a positive approach. Vineyards that were too cool (or cold) 20 years ago now produce excellently balanced fruit.
For MGA it all started with a book published by the Italian Slow Food Association, called Atlante delle Vigne di Langa, which contained historical maps of terroirs and their delimitations. Winemakers participated in its creation, providing data where each vineyard is located. At some point the practice of regular meetings of committees from each municipality with “their” winemakers became normal in order to update and coordinate information on vineyards, crus, and their boundaries. Finally, the information from all the municipalities merged into a single map.
Of course, there were also political moments – some municipalities were more persistent and strong, and it manifested in how the MGAs were divided into sub-plots: there were some bigger sub-zones or vineyards, and it was immediately clear that there was a certain interest in presenting this large territory in such a way. It didn’t have any serious influence on the map as a whole, though. Today, the MGA map doesn’t change anymore, but updates to the map will still occur because in reality not all MGA plots are used by winemakers (although the vast majority are).
Alessandro Masnaghetti’s book — called Barolo MGA — is based precisely on that delimitation of Barolo vineyards. Alessandro does tremendous work describing these vineyards, delving deeply into their history, analyzing soils, and tasting wines from these terroirs, which is incredibly valuable and useful. For example, you understand what to expect in terms of taste from, say, the Monvigliero vineyard. And he’s an excellent taster, which is very important for such work. He never says what he “likes”; it’s his analysis of the wine’s profile.
In the end, the simplest definition of MGA is a plot. It may belong to one municipality or several municipalities. It’s a place with certain physical characteristics. In any case, all MGAs are unique and different from each other”.