# Barolo en Primeur 2026: Barrels, Old Bottles and Christie's at Grinzane _Fourteen barriques of 2025 Barolo, seven village lots and 31 historic bottles go to auction for charity on 23 October._ > Il Vino Bello, 2026-09-29. Il Vino Bello editorial (https://ilvinobello.com/editorial/barolo-en-primeur-2026-barrels-old-bottles-and-christies-at-grinzane). Every autumn, a few barrels of young Barolo leave the Langhe without ever leaving their cellar. On Friday 23 October, the sixth edition of Barolo en Primeur returns to the Castello di Grinzane Cavour, with a Christie's auctioneer at the rostrum and bidders connected from London and New York. It is a charity sale, it is serious wine, and this year, for the first time, it also includes a set of old bottles. ## What goes under the hammer The auction is promoted by Fondazione CRC and Fondazione CRC Donare ETS together with the Consorzio di Tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Dogliani. The heart of it is 14 barriques of Barolo from Vigna Gustava, all from the 2025 vintage. A fifteenth barrique is held back for Sunday 8 November, when it will be sold during the Asta Mondiale del Tartufo Bianco d'Alba, the world white truffle auction, with a live link to Hong Kong. According to the organisers, each barrique will give about 270 bottles, after the minimum 38 months of ageing that the Barolo DOCG rules require. In other words, whoever wins a lot on 23 October is buying wine that is still a long way from being Barolo in the legal sense. That is the en primeur idea: you commit now, while the wine is in wood. The sale is led by Cristiano De Lorenzo, director of Christie's Italia. Bidders who cannot be in the room can send a written bid or ask to take part by telephone. ## Vigna Gustava, Cavour's old vineyard Vigna Gustava is a vineyard of almost four hectares that runs along the foot of the Grinzane Cavour hill, below the castle. It was already under vine when the property belonged to Count Camillo Benso di Cavour, the statesman whose name the village carries. The barrels on offer are not identical. The parcels are vinified separately according to exposure, altitude and the age of the vines, so each barrique reflects a slightly different slice of the same hillside. The winemaking is directed by the oenologist Donato Lanati. Each bottle will also carry an NFC tag hidden under the label, a digital certificate meant to guarantee that what a buyer opens years from now is what came out of the barrel. The 2026 label is by Sol Calero, a Venezuelan artist born in Caracas in 1982. Her work, "Paisaje de vino", shows the Langhe at night: hills and rows in layers of green, turquoise, violet and blue, with a bright moon at the centre. ## Seven village lots and the first old bottles Alongside the barrels there are seven "comune" lots, 681 bottles in total, donated by 39 wineries of the Consorzio. Six lots are Barolo, drawn from the villages of Barolo, La Morra, Serralunga d'Alba, Monforte d'Alba, Castiglione Falletto, Verduno and Novello. One lot is Barbaresco, from Barbaresco, Neive and Treiso. The formats include 112 magnums and 28 double magnums, and the crus named by the organisers include Cannubi, Bussia, Villero, Vignarionda, Rocche dell'Annunziata and Ginestra. New this year are 31 historic bottles, with vintages going back to 1996. They pass through the celebrated 2010 and 2016 vintages, and include a vertical of three consecutive years of Cannubi, 2009 to 2011, and a five-litre bottle of Bussia 2012. ## Where the money goes Over its first five editions, Barolo en Primeur has raised more than 4.5 million euro for close to 100 projects, from social care to art and culture. The 2025 sale set the record so far, at 1,130,300 euro. All the proceeds from this year's auction go the same way. The organisers also link this edition to Alba's role as Italian Capital of Contemporary Art in 2027, a good fit for a label by a contemporary artist. ## If you are in the Langhe this autumn Most of us will not be bidding on a barrique. The castle is still one of the best places to understand what the auction is about. Grinzane Cavour houses the Enoteca Regionale Piemontese Cavour, the Langhe museum in its rooms, a restaurant and a bistro café, and the new Museo In Vigna, which is included with the ticket. The museum is closed on Tuesdays, so check the castle's own site for hours before you go. To taste from some of the same crus and villages, a few producers on Il Vino Bello make natural next stops: [Prunotto](https://ilvinobello.com/wineries/prunotto) is based at Bussia Soprana in Monforte d'Alba, [Paolo Conterno](https://ilvinobello.com/wineries/paolo-conterno) sits in Ginestra, and in the commune of Barolo you can visit [Francesco Rinaldi & Figli](https://ilvinobello.com/wineries/francesco-rinaldi-figli) or [G.D. Vajra](https://ilvinobello.com/wineries/g-d-vajra). None of them needs a paddle to pour you a glass. ## Sources - [ANSA: Torna Barolo en primeur, per la prima volta all'asta anche bottiglie storiche](https://www.ansa.it/piemonte/notizie/2026/09/25/torna-barolo-en-primeur-per-la-prima-volta-allasta-anche-bottiglie-storiche_c7f9d9f2-466e-4bc5-8751-1b6cd01a4b23.html) - [Tasting Life: Barolo en primeur 2026, Vigna Gustava e bottiglie storiche all'asta da Christie's](https://www.tastinglife.it/2026/09/28/barolo-en-primeur-2026-vigna-gustava-e-bottiglie-storiche-allasta-da-christies-23-ottobre-2026/) - [Targatocn: Sesta edizione per Barolo en Primeur](https://www.targatocn.it/2026/09/25/leggi-notizia/argomenti/attualita/articolo/sesta-edizione-per-barolo-en-primeur-solidarieta-bottiglie-storiche-e-aste-internazionali-al-ca.html) - [La Voce di Alba: Sesta edizione per Barolo en Primeur](https://www.lavocedialba.it/2026/09/25/leggi-notizia/argomenti/attualita-14/articolo/sesta-edizione-per-barolo-en-primeur-solidarieta-bottiglie-storiche-e-aste-internazionali-al-ca-1.html) - [Cuneodice: La sesta edizione di Barolo en primeur porta all'asta i lotti storici](https://www.cuneodice.it/varie/alba-e-langhe/la-sesta-edizione-di-barolo-en-primeur-porta-allasta-i-lotti-storici_127604.html) - [Castello di Grinzane Cavour: FAQ](https://www.castellogrinzane.com/en/faq/)