2015 Giacomo Borgogno No Name Langhe Nebbiolo 750 ml

When critic Antonio Galloni calls a Langhe Nebbiolo “one of the best values in the world of wine,” most readers would justifiably assume he’s talking about a bargain Barolo—an oxymoron because Barolo is one of those regal categories that rarely does value, and “bargain” typically describes an extraordinary wine that’s narrowly avoided a $50+ price tag. 

If we told you this extraordinary wine—made from estate vineyards within three famous Barolo Crus: Cannubi, Fossati and Liste—is actually $36, you’d also be astute to surmise that it can’t possibly be Barolo. And technically you’d be right, but Giacomo Borgono purposefully declassifies some of their best estate fruit from three Barolo Crusto defiantly make “No Name”—a protest of sorts—a stunningly complex would-be Barolo.

Wine Spectator summed it up best, “The Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Langhe No Name is a Barolo in all but name.” Upon sampling the 2015 No Name, we can whole-heartedly back that up on taste alone. Oozing with bright red fruit, licorice, crushed rose petal, and fresh tar upon entry, the ripe primary flavors are punctuated on the finish with secondary notes of savory tobacco, mint and black tea. Its sophisticated tannic structure will ensure this will only improve over the next decade-plus. 

Giacomo Borgogno & Figli has a renowned history of bottling exceptional Barolo, with a legacy tracing back to 1761. In 1871, it was Borgogno Barolo that was flowing at the official dinner celebrating the Italian Risorgimento (Unification). When the last Russian czar, Nicholas II Romanov, came to Italy in 1886, he drank Borgogno Barolo at the Castle of Racconigi. The winery’s exquisitely preserved library is the cellar of dreams for serious collectors.

In 2005, Borgogno experimented with an ever-so-slightly more modern-style. The bureaucratic red tape of Italy is almost as iconic as its wine, and Borgogno was promptly denied DOCG status for that cask of Barolo—it was cited as too “stylistically irregular” to be considered Barolo. Really? For a 250-year-old estate? The owners had a good laugh, but decided to get even. 

They didn’t go as far as Mouton-Rothschild in France, the estate that lobbied and sued for decades until they were elevated from a Second Growth to a First Growth. Instead, every year, in quiet, hushed-laughter dissent, Borgogno went rogue—and No Name is the delicious result.

These days, as Galloni’s resounding endorsement proves, No Name has established quite a reputation of its own. While it remains unclassified, No Name now carries a much more significant label, as “one of the best values in the world of wine.” 

It would also carry a $50+ price tag, were it not for the outdated rubric of Italian wine law. Our own Master Sommelier, Sur Lucero, dubs it, “textbook Langhe Barolo, if tasted blind.” Perhaps that’s why he poured it by the glass at Napa’s preeminent Italian bistro, Oenotri, from its very first vintage. 

It’s certainly why we’re able to offer it at the best price in the country. Grab your case today, before No Name becomes… no more.