The second edition of the charity auction organised by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Cuneo and Fondazione CRC Donare ETS, with the Consorzio di Tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Dogliani, raises 769,800 euros in favor of charitable projects. Raised 170,000 euros, more than the first edition.
Staged last October the 28th at Grinzane Cavour Castle, the auction featured 24 lots, out of five gained by the participants attending live from New York and Hong Kong. The latest lot has been hammered at the World White Truffle of Alba Auction, as the results, this venture achieved more than 800,000 euros. Philanthropists awarded 14 barrels containing the Barolo 2021, produced in the Gustava Vineyard around the Grinzane castle, belonged to a great protagonist of Italy: Camillo Count Benso di Cavour. After the indispensable 4-years of ageing, the Barolo bottles will be numbered and labelled by the drown-opera of Michelangelo Pistoletto artist. All the wines have been vinified by ENOSIS Meraviglia owned by Donato Lanati (one of the top international oenologists and experts in the wine sector); Antonio Galloni (the famous CEO of Vinous) has scored these wines with a range from 92 to 94 points. Among the distinctive elements of the project is also the presence of the NFT (Non-Fungible Token), a certificate of digital authenticity guaranteed via blockchain, which will be
attached to each bottle. In addition, 10 other subscribers were awarded more than1,200 fine bottles of Barolo and Barbaresco-divided into 10 lots based on the production commune-that 70 producers of the Consortium made available free of charge for the auction, to help raise funds for the Alba School of Enology. An extremely important place of study and training for the Langhe. The auction, curated by Christie’s, was hammered again this year by Italy Director Cristiano De Lorenzo, who deals exclusively with charitable ones. Price records for lot number 23, which was beaten for 45,000 euros, and for the special 500-litre lot (equal to about 660 bottles of wine) added at the end of the Auction by CRC Foundation President Ezio Raviola, which raised 175,000 euros.
Doubling the auction base for the communal lots with bottles from producers with prestigious names from Brezza, Cavalloto, Conterno, Ettore Germano, Marchesi di Barolo, Mascarello, Oddero, Pio Cesare, Rinaldi, and Rizzi.
Seven of the 14 barrels hammered out during the auction are already associated with as many charities, while the remaining will be destined independently by the philanthropists who won them. Barolo en primeur has chosen to support a project to promote and recover the knowledge and landscape of the Alta Langa, the so-called ”Banca del Fare”, promoted by Fondazione Matrice ETS; the ”Nega-so” project, with which the objective of reflecting on migration flows and encouraging integration is pursued, promoted by Cooperativa sociale Liberitutti; the project to restore and enhance the historic cellar of Villa Arconati, promoted by Fondazione Augusto Rancilio; the project ”The energy of art, between nature, science and technology”, a pathway to contemporary art and sustainability, promoted by Castello di Rivoli – Museum of Contemporary Art; the ”CivicAttiva” Project, through which active citizenship paths are proposed to schools to stimulate young people to change and sustainability, promoted by the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Foundation; the ”New Forms of Life” project to educate children between the ages of 5 and 12 about cultural heritage, promoted by the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Foundation; and finally the ”Neighborhood Schools – RELOADED” project,
which supports pupils in social and behavioral difficulties with innovative pedagogical methodologies, promoted by the LUNETICA Social Cooperative.
The success of the second edition of Barolo en Primeur confirms the great attention paid to fine wines and how the Langhe appellations represent an opportunity to involve even the producers. Last but not the least, the en primeur sales model increases the value of Barolo and Barbaresco and incentivizes a type of market that is just being introduced in Italy.
Erika Montovan
