Barolo en Primeur, a social responsibility project promoted by the CRC Foundation and the CRC Donare ETS Foundation with the Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe and Dogliani Protection Consortium, returns to the Grinzane Castle on 24 October. Now in its fifth edition, the international charity auction exceeded one million euros last year, bringing the total to 3.4 million raised in four years for over 70 social and cultural projects.
Under the gavel of Cristiano De Lorenzo, director of Christie’s Italia, they will be
The barriques bear the signature of the oenologist Donato Lanati, who divided the vineyard into parcels based on exposure and altitude, vinifying each portion separately. From each barrique 270 bottles of Barolo will be born, ready for consumption after the minimum 38 months of aging. As usual, Antonio Galloni, CEO of Vinous, will evaluate the quality of the wines and express his en primeur opinion.
Alongside the wines of Vigna Gustava, eight municipal lots of Barolo and Barbaresco will be up for auction, donated by over 80 wineries of the Consortium and brought together under the name of 11 municipalities symbolizing the denomination. In all, 914 bottles in standard and large formats, for approximately 925 liters in total. Four lots will finance charities chosen by the buyers, the others will support the Alba Wine School and other local projects. In total, Barolo en Primeur 2025 will put 3,962 liters of Barolo and Barbaresco on sale, a heritage that represents the excellence of the Langhe and the link between wine and solidarity. Anyone can participate by submitting written or telephone offers using the forms available on the Fondazionecrcdonare.it website.
Among the novelties this year is the collaboration with Fieramente, a wine transport company founded by Alessio Piccardi in 2015, which will take care of the free delivery of the bottles combined with the lots. Another innovation concerns digital traceability: each bottle will be equipped with an invisible NFC tag under the label, developed by Tesisquare with its IoT Competence Center Elision and by the innovative SME Autentico Srl. The system, impossible to clone, will certify origin and authenticity even offline and will allow you to view, via smartphone, a digital card with traceability data, organoleptic notes and a live webcam on the Vigna Gustava. The system will be applied starting from bottles of Barolo en Primeur 2023 (2022 harvest), on the market from 2026.
Also returning to the calendar of the initiative is “Exclusive Tasting – Barolo en Primeur”, the tasting itinerary which will be held in the week preceding the auction and will offer enthusiasts and collectors the opportunity to preview the wines from the municipal lots. Reservations will be available on the website of the International Alba White Truffle Fair.
«Since the birth of Barolo en Primeur in 2021 – recalls Giuliano Viglione, president of the CRC Donare ETS Foundation – we have raised over 3.4 million euros, supporting more than 70 social and cultural projects in the province of Cuneo and around the world. It is a format that transforms wine into an engine of solidarity, capable of uniting territories and generating social value.” For Sergio Germano, president of the Consorzio di Tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Dogliani, «the en primeur mechanism is a strategic tool that consolidates the demand for fine wines and strengthens relationships between producers and collectors, bringing the name of the Langhe to stages such as London, New York and Hong Kong».
As per tradition, the project also combines art with wine.
The 2025 artist label is signed by Giulia Cenci (born in Cortona in 1988), one of the most interesting voices on the international contemporary scene. The work, entitled self-devouring figure, is a self-portrait in which the artist’s face is partially covered by a flower, a symbol of metamorphosis and transformation.