Cocchi Barolo Chinato

Giulio Cocchi founded his business in the North Western Italian town of Asti in 1891 when, as a young pastry chef, he became fascinated with the pairing of food and wine. Giulio began producing quality aromatic-infused wines and, by the turn of the century, two in particular; Barolo Chinato and Aperitivo Americano, had become very popular across international markets.

Cocchi's vermouths are much more than simple wines made with the infusion of herbs and spices. Aperitifs and digestifs par excellence, the Cocchi range is a taste of Piemonte's gastronomic history which dates back to the 1900s.

Giulio Cocchi is now owned by the Bava Family, themselves highly renowned wine producers. Today the winery still maintains its artisan character using only traditional techniques to craft the distinctive spirits that have made the Cocchi name synonymous with style and quality.

From the Americano, hailed as the original, to the Barolo Chinato, once drunk for medicinal purposes and to guard against fevers, Cocchi's vermouths remain some of the most well respected and quality driven in the world today.

Barolo Chinato is a fortified wine which was traditionally drunk for medicinal purposes to guard against fevers and stomach upsets, but also gifted as a sign of hospitality. Today it is more commonly used as a digestif and is a wonderful way to round off a meal, as well as being unbeatable with chocolate.

Cocchi's Barolo Chinato still follows the traditional recipe: after a minimum of three years in oak casks, Barolo DOCG wine is infused with the bark of the Calissaja Quinine tree, red china, rhubarb root, gentian and cardamom seeds, as well as a secret blend of herbs and spices. It is then laid down for another lengthy maturation, allowing the complex flavours to carefully marry.

Tasting Notes

Heavy, rich and thick with both sweetness and bitterness. Stewed raisins, dark spiced fruit cake and rich, buttery almond notes dominate, with cherry, menthol touches and gentle ground mixed spice as a background. It's almost like mulled wine, but with more richness and a definite sweet/sour acidity.