Guido Porro

Guido Porro is one of my favorite under the radar producers...They also happen to be among the most fairly priced Baroli readers will come across in today’s market. Porro’s vineyards are in Serralunga, where Baroli tend to be quite powerful, but here the wines are delicate, perfumed and refined, all in a classic, traditional style built on transparency and weightlessness. Guido Porro remains one of the most underrated growers in Serralunga. ANTONIO GALLONI

It seems there are still a few surprises in them there Langhe Hills and the most graphic example of that must be the wines of Guido Porro. Located in the prized terroirs of Serralunga, the Porro family have long grown grapes and made wine but for the most part they have simply sold the grapes or wine (in demijohn) to other producers. It has only been relatively recently that they started bottling under their own label. 

The wines are all made in a very traditional manner and large Slavonian oak is the only vessel used for maturation. There is no fining, no filtration and in the vineyards herbicides and pesticides have never been used. Guido himself treats the process as a fairly non-intervetionist pursuit and lets the vineyards speak for themselves and this attitude also continues into the marketing of the wines where he rarely provides samples to journlists. Those who do know about the wines are those who have heard and sought them out for themselves. 

The two main Baroli cru are the Lazzaraisco (the lower portion of Lazzarito) and Santa Caterina (further along toward Serralunga and directly below the house). Interestingly both these plots are owned in their entirety by Porro which is a rarity in the Langhe. As one would imagine the wines are classically styled and exemplify the purity of the fruit and the ground they're grown in. If there is one characteristic where the wines depart from the generalised Serralunga script its that they have a more demure character and the more intensely austere elements associated with Serralunga are not as prevalent. 

Finally, in terms price for quality these wines are virtually without peer in the Australian market. They are ridiculously good value and we highly recommend them to you. MICHAEL MCNAMARA