Marco Marengo

Marco Marengo makes thrilling wines but is still, just about, one of those under the radar producers and as a result the wines offer tremendous value. After working with his father, Mario, for years he finally went it alone in 2001 when his father passed away. With his small holding of 6ha Marco makes some of the most stylish and characterful wines in the region. From Dolcetto through to the fantastic Barolo, Le Brunate - they display the elegance and drinkability that should define great La Morra wines. The Brunate, for which Marco has gained a great reputation, is the jewel in his crown. It is one of the great cru in Barolo and the quintessential La Morra style Barolo with its ethereal perfume and finesse tinged with a complex earthiness and refined but powerful tannins. Marco owns two parcels of vines ranging from 15 to 70 years old. After a gentle, slow fermentation and maceration, the wines are aged in oak barriques, with an absolutely maximum of 25% new wood, for 24 months.

2015 Vintage

Not perhaps the generous crop the Marengos would have hoped for after the tiny 2014 vintage, but an improvement, nonetheless. The 2015 vintage yielded around 20% less wine than the average, mainly due to the drier than usual conditions in mid-summer. Overall, though, Marco Marengo considers the 2015 summer to be “a warm but balanced vintage and you see this balance in the wines, they have a sweet fruit but are harmonious.” Whilst the wines hint at a marginally warmer style year for us this translates in to a very positive thing – a generous and engaging fruit character. The fruit feels ripe yet distinctly alive and vibrant, if not as racy as either 2014 or 2013. A very accomplished and seductive vintage here.

2016 Vintage

Marco reported that 2016’s weather was fantastic. “It was not too hot, a regular season. Fresh wines with good balance, built around elegance. The tannins are young but the wines are pleasurable to taste. Similar to 2010 in profile or maybe 2004. A great vintage and a widespread success.” Very much a classically-styled vintage at Marengo, the wines are fresh, harmonious and tannins are approachable. Always a favourite of ours for their brightness, elegance and value. These may not be the most cerebral or complicated wines but, these are Barolos we just love to drink.

2017 Vintage

These wines are so easy to like, as is Marco himself. Simply made but elegant and honest wines of pure joy. Great vineyards make great wine, nowhere is that better evidenced than here. Old vineyards situated mid upper slope in Brunate, one of Barolo’s true Grands Crus, make the quality. Winemaking has not changed in the last decade, a couple of weeks of fermentation and pumping over in large vats followed by ageing in barriques of less than 20% new wood. Despite the drought and heat of 2017, Marco has managed to maintain the refined but generous style. These may be some of the best value wines you can find in Barolo, and are easy to drink, but don’t be fooled they can age – a recently opened 2004 Brunate was in its prime, complex but still with plenty of verve. Whilst 2017 will drink earlier than this, or indeed its predecessor, 2016, it could cellar comfortable for a decade.

2018 Vintage

We can't speak highly enough of this little-known, family estate. Quantities are small and prices are very fair, so the wines rarely get the attention they fully deserve; the Marengos just cheerfully go about their business, producing delicious and characterful wines from some of La Morra and Barolo's finest sites. This is an excellent range that punches well above its weight. Marco described 2018 as a “classic vintage, coming from an October harvest when grapes had a great balance of acidity, potential alcohol and ripe tannin." But it was not easy, he continued "there was a lot of quantity at the beginning, you had to green harvest a lot, this was very important, otherwise you would have got variable quality and uneven ripeness." The wines are so fine and balanced you could almost drink them now. Impeccable balanced, artisan Barolos that are reliably easy to enjoy.

2019 Vintage

Marco, Jenny and Stefano Marengo form quite the trio. Bouncing off each other, full of laughter and smiles, when Marco Marengo sips a glass of Brunate, sits back and exclaims, eyes brimming and bright with a wide toothy grin, “the life… so fantastico!” it is a heart-warming moment that reminds one of the joy that Barolo brings to people. Not least us. Justerini & Brooks has been working with the Marengos for over twenty years and it is many the employee who has loaded up on their wines, followed them year-in year-out – and never regretted it. Moreover, as young Stefano plays an increasing role in the winemaking with his father, experimentation is afoot. Marco is providing Stefano with the space and support to forge his own path, the result of which is a new white label Langhe Nebbiolo fermented in tine with no temperature control. Marco, though, continues with his tried and tested methods; namely, fermentations in stainless steel for 10–15 days before transfer to French oak barriques 10–15% new for malolactic and ageing over two years. For the first time, the Barolo Classico 2019 includes two Botti Grande components in the blend – another Stefano Marengo initiative. Wines to put a smile on your face.

2020 Vintage

2023 was a bit of a watershed year for the Marengo family. Of course, the 2019 vintage brought attention to Barolo generally, even if this came as a surprise to Marengo, who was dubbed by one producer we met, “the Brunate master”. The family simply aren’t used to attention and have never sought it. We didn’t help their quest for quiet, for thanks to the generosity of an ardent collector and long-serving Justerini & Brooks team member, we organised a once-in-a-generation vertical tasting of said Brunate from 1997-2019 last year. It took place in a small cellar in London’s Covent Garden. Jancis Robinson, writing a full-page feature in the Financial Times, said, “what was extraordinary about the line-up was how uniformly fine they were,” noting the esteem in which the family is held by worldwide terroir guru Pedro Parra. Happily, apart from a newly framed article on the wall of the tasting room, nothing much has changed here. The 2020s are as lovely as ever, and were presented to us in the family’s habitually cheery, life-affirming way, this time by Juventus-mad, cheeky chappy Stefano Marengo. An absolute chip off the old block, he lowered his head, peered over his glasses and grinned. “2020 is a year of quality and quantity. We are happy that we can drink them young, and they will endure for a long time.” On the basis of what we tasted in Covent Garden, you’d be bonkers to bet against him. What’s more, they remain very fairly priced.

2021 Vintage

If 2023 was a bit of a watershed year for the Marengo family in terms of media attention and sales, 2024 was to prove a more tiring one. They explained that the year was tough, requiring constant work in the vineyards, but that they are happy with the results. Excitingly, son Stefano is taking a more prominent role in the winery, and this year releases his first Barolo, bottled as a white label “Classico” but in fact comes exclusively from La Morra’s Boiolo vineyard. In a departure from the Marco Marengo style, Stefano Marengo chooses to ferment and age his wine in tronconic wooden vat, where Marco favours stainless steel and barrique. This humble family are a joy to work with and continue to produce delicious, approachable Barolos at fair prices. A vertical tasting of 1997-2019 in 2023 proved that the wines age beautifully, with Jancis Robinson reporting in the Financial Times, “what was extraordinary about the line-up was how uniformly fine they were.” Great people, great wines, great prices!