The first Barolo en primeur auction, which was organised by the Cassa di Risparmio di Cuneo Foundation has raised €600,000 for charity.
In the first event of its kind, bidders from across the world took part in the auction, which was run in partnership with the Consortium for the Protection of Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe and Dogliani, international auction house Christie’s and wine critic Antonio Galloni. It was live-streamed from the Grinzane Castle in Piedmont, Italy, with wine critic Antonio Galloni joining the auction via live stream from New York to discuss tasting notes before each lot.
Antonio Galloni also minted an NFT (non-fungible token) as a digital certificate of authenticity for every barrique.
The auction consisted of 14 bespoke Barolo barriques still maturing in the cask, which were created under the supervision of world-renowned oenologist, Donato Lanati, and a tonneau (equivalent to 600 bottles) of the Barolo del Comune di Grinzane Cavour 2020. When the barriques have finished ageing in 2024, they will each yield around 300 bottles, which will be labelled with a bespoke creation from artist, Giuseppe Penone.
The bids opened at £22,209 (US$30,000), with the largest bid of the evening coming in at €140,000 (£119,077) for the tonneau.
Following the success of the event, the organisers and charity partners have confirmed it will take place again next year.
