The Order’s Selection

The Great Wines of Alba

The Order of Knights of the Truffle and Wines of Alba has played – and continues to play – a very important role in the advancement of vinegrowing and winemaking in the Alba area.
The call for wines of unconditional quality and typical style served as a stimulus, roadmap and beacon in the extraordinary economic and culture journey that has established the local wines as among the finest in the world.
Ever since its early years in fact, to enhance the prestige of the wines grown in the Alba area the Order has produced an annual Selection of the Great Wines of Alba: exceptional wines capable of achieving a score of at least 90/100 in a rigorous blind tasting.

The Selections since 1975

The first Selection of the Great Wines of Alba took place in 1975, when only one of the wines submitted by members of the Wine Trails network achieved the 90/100 score criterion: a 1970 Barbaresco produced by Francesco Rinaldi of Alba. The following year saw the selection of a total of 12 labels from six wineries, while 1981 proved to be exceptional: no fewer than 22 of the 41 wines submitted achieved the standard of excellence.

The samples of wine taken from lots of at least 1000 bottles were tasted blind by a special panel appointed from among the Order’s Master Tasters. Only the very best were chosen for the Selection, and as a result awarded the right to bear a special, prestigious label and be sold in the Enoteca Regionale in Grinzane Cavour Castle or directly by the producer.

Only the very best bear the prestigious label

The finest wines in the Enoteca
Regionale Piemontese Cavour

Since 2015, only cellars of the Langhe, Monferrato and Roero Area are eligible for the Selection of the Order of Knights of the Truffle and Wines of Alba. Each cellar can submit two wines to the appraisal of a Tasting Panel (presided over since 2022 by Mauro Carosso). Bottles of the selected wines are numbered from 1 to 100, and bear the badge of distinction of the official Order of Knights of the Truffle and Wines of Alba label.

In this way they become unique items which can only be purchased in person from the Enoteca Regionale Piemontese Cavour, or on-line from its e-commerce website www.ecommerce.castellogrinzane.com
Knights who are up-to-date with the annual membership dues enjoy a special discount of 10% on purchases of the wines.

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The Selection Chapter

Held in September, the Chapter given over to the presentation of the annual Selection represents a significant moment, not only for the producers who choose to take part and accept the final decision of the Tasting Panel, but also for the entire winegrowing sector in the Langa and Roero.

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