Into the 1840s Barolo was a sweetish, often frothy red — Nebbiolo's late harvest met cold cellars that stopped the fermentation short. The Marchesa Giulia di Barolo and Camillo Cavour, with the French oenologist Louis Oudart, saw it fermented fully dry, and the court of Savoy adopted the result: "wine of kings, king of wines".
Nebbiolo is a paradox the glass never resolves: pale, almost Pinot-like colour over massive tannin and acidity, tar and roses in the same breath. The late twentieth century fought over its upbringing — long macerations and great old botti against short cuvaisons and French barriques — a quarrel that modernised both camps.