Barolo vs. Brunello: Which Italian Wine Reigns Supreme?

By WineBottleMag
February 6, 2025
Barolo Brunello Italian Reigns Supreme Wine
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In the grand arena of Italian wine, two legendary regions have long vied for the crown of the country’s best wine: Barolo, Piedmont’s “king of wines,” and Brunello di Montalcino, the noble upstart from Tuscany.

Like a World Cup final between wine titans, this match-up pits Piedmont’s enigmatic Nebbiolo against Tuscany’s charismatic Sangiovese, each grape expressing its terroir with distinct personality and flair.

The comparison isn’t just about wine; it’s about history, culture and the very soul of Italian winemaking.

“Brunello and Barolo are the leading wine regions when we speak about native grapes, with Sangiovese and Nebbiolo having their best expressions in these appellations,” says Massimiliano Giovannoni, a Montalcino native and private chef/sommelier.

The Grapes: Vibrant vs. Ethereal

At their core, these wines showcase two of Italy’s most noble grape varieties, each with its own distinct personality and challenges. Both are known for high tannins, loads of acidity and, in monovarietal form, expressing their specific terroir with great detail and nuance.

Neither lend themselves to easy winemaking. “They are reserved varieties and begin to show themselves and what direction they want to go after a few days of fermentation,” says Luca Currado, owner of Cascina Penna-Currado, who was born into one of Barolo’s historic winemaking families, and has spent years consulting in Montalcino, bridging these two worlds with an intimate understanding of both regions’ terroir and traditions.

He adds, “you cannot rush them, you have to be patient.”

This precision in timing exemplifies the expertise required to craft these world-class wines.

In the vineyard, however, they couldn’t be more different from one another. Nebbiolo “is very resistant to different diseases,” says Beatrice Boschis of E. Pira & Figli in Barolo. “It is, if farmed well, very suitable for growing in a sustainable and organic point of view.”

Sangiovese, on the other hand, might just be Italy’s “heartbreak grape,” temperamental with a “very short window of opportunity for picking at optimal ripeness,” says Filippo Bellini of Tenuta Buon Tempo in Montalcino. “Sangiovese picked too early can be green and harsh. Picked too late, jammy and alcoholic.”

The Regions: Under the Tuscan Sun vs. the Piedmont Fog

The unique climactic conditions of the regions vary just as widely as the nature of these varietals—and both are ideal growing locales for their native grapes.

Much of it comes down to “Montalcino under the Tuscany sun versus Barolo under the Piedmontese fog,” says Currado. “The soils are extremely different and Sangiovese has a better attitude to resist warmer climates than Nebbiolo.”

These natural adaptations help explain why these varieties have found their ideal homes in their respective regions.

The geography of the regions plays a key role in the contrasting flavor profiles, too.

The approximately 600-square-meter Brunello appellation, which expands out from the hilltop city of Montalcino, is surrounded by rivers on three sides as well as an extinct volcano that helps to moderate the winds. This unique topography is what makes Brunello di Montalcino bottlings sing.

“This magic hill has all the pieces perfectly placed, compacted clay challenging the vine to find water, elevation, exposure, heat that is subdued by the natural wind that comes off the Mediterranean and down the Ombrone and the Orcia river and the mighty protection from the elements of Mount Amiata,” says Randall Restiano, beverage director at New York City’s Gramercy Tavern, who makes an impassioned case for the region.

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This results in firm yet generous wines boasting aromas of black cherries, wild plums and dried herbs and earth with a structure that frames all of the flavors like a multi-layered “Wall of Sound.”

“The harmony between grape and terroir happens a lot all over the world for many different wine regions, but the harmony here is unmatched globally,” Restiano says.

In Barolo, Boschis describes an equally compelling landscape with drastically different climactic conditions. “There is a reason why it’s a UNESCO heritage site—the hills shaped by the vineyard are breathtaking,” she says. “It’s in a corner between the Alps, the Appennini, the sea and the Po valley that makes the climate unique in the world, protecting the hills.”

This is why these wines are generally known for their wafting aromas that hint toward crushed raspberries or macerating cherries, laced with notes of dried rose, truffle and incense. Barolos are elegant and graceful with the power and agility of a ballet dancer.

Though they do share common characteristics, Silvia Altare of Elio Altare in Barolo also emphasizes the importance of site-specificity in the region.

It is divided into 150 codified single vineyards called menziona geografica aggiuntiva (or MGAs) that each have their personality and express Nebbiolo in a unique and specific manner, from ethereal and light to firm and powerful. “Every cru here has a different soil composition, different exposure, different altitude and all these factors contribute to making wines with different characteristics.”

This diversity within Barolo adds another layer of complexity to the comparison.

The Verdict?

Like choosing between children, declaring a “winner” in this comparison proves impossible—and perhaps misses the point entirely.

While Carlin Karr, wine and beverage director of Frasca Hospitality Group in Colorado, believes “Barolo is unquestionably Italy’s greatest wine region,” she admits from a sommelier’s perspective, “Sangiovese [i.e. Brunello] can be easier to sell to a wider range of guests” and proves “more seasonally applicable all year round whereas Nebbiolo is more of a fall/winter wine.”

Still, she acknowledges that “Barolo vs Brunello is a tough one to pick a side.”

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The truth is, like good parenting, appreciating these wines isn’t about playing favorites; it’s about understanding and celebrating their unique characteristics. Just as a parent might marvel at how two children from the same family can develop such distinct personalities, wine lovers can appreciate how two of Italy’s greatest wines have evolved to express their terroir, tradition and talent in remarkably different ways.

Danielle Callegari, Wine Enthusiast’s reviewer for Tuscany, does a great job of summarizing the essence of these wines and their unique natures. “Brunello is bitey and difficult in the beginning but after a few sips (or a few years) she settles down and is basically very chill beyond that,” she says. “Barolo is unbounded and energetic at the beginning, then gets a little grumpy for a stretch, then becomes full teddy bear.”

Like beloved children, each brings its own gifts to the table, enriching the world of wine in its own incomparable way. And perhaps that’s exactly what makes both Barolo and Brunello so special—not their competition with each other, but their ability to tell their own unique stories through the language of wine.

More Italian Wine Coverage

A beginner’s guide to Italian wine.
Gin and hard-to-find Tuscan wines: five glasses in Chianti (that aren’t Chianti).
Here’s a guide to Italy’s organic wine boom.
Where to go in Italy’s Alto Adige, a region unblemished by tourism.
These five Italian whites are great today—but even better tomorrow.