Casa E. di Mirafiore
A Barolo born of a king’s love
A story that began with a king’s love
In 1858 Victor Emmanuel II, King of Sardinia and later the first king of a united Italy, bought land in the hills of the Langhe in Piedmont — not for the crown, but for a woman: his beloved Rosa Vercellana. Their son, Emanuele Alberto Guerrieri, received the title of Count of Mirafiore.
In 1878 the Count founded a winery bearing his name on land around Barolo and Fontanafredda: Casa E. di Mirafiore. Barolo’s famous nickname, “the wine of kings”, began with this royal winery. Of all the Barolos, that is why Mirafiore is the “true wine of kings”.
A nobleman who was also a farmer
The Count of Mirafiore was no nobleman who stayed inside his castle. In 1887 he became the first in Europe to install concrete ageing vats in his cellar, and the same year he won a gold medal in Cologne, Germany — strikingly modern winemaking for its day.
Beside the vineyards he built a village for the people who worked there, with farmhouses, cellars, stables and even a church, and founded a mutual society for his workers. This is why Mirafiore calls itself “Counts & Farmers” today.
Seventy years asleep, then revival
The glory did not last. The Great Depression of the 1930s and the phylloxera that swept Europe’s vineyards brought Mirafiore down. The brand was sold in 1931 and faded from memory for about seventy years.
The sleeping name was awakened in 2008. Oscar Farinetti, founder of the Italian food brand Eataly, acquired the Fontanafredda estate, revived the Mirafiore label and restarted production of its single-vineyard Barolos.
Serralunga d’Alba, land of the firmest Barolo
Mirafiore has about 25 hectares of vineyards, mostly in Serralunga d’Alba and some in the village of Barolo. Serralunga d’Alba is regarded as the source of Barolo’s most powerful and longest-lived wines.
Yet Mirafiore’s Barolo is different: it drapes finesse and elegance over a firm frame. To the east, the Lazzarito vineyard, rich in limestone, gives wines both powerful and graceful; to the west, in the village of Barolo, Paiagallo yields a radiant Barolo with endless notes of dried flowers and herbs. These two single-vineyard Barolos are the face of Mirafiore.
Earth and sky, roots and wine
Mirafiore has been certified organic since the 2018 vintage. All of its wines are certified vegan, and it holds Italy’s Equalitas certification, which weighs environmental, ethical and economic sustainability together.
The winemaking keeps to tradition. Barolo ages 24 months in medium and large oak casks, then more than a year in bottle. Mirafiore also brings old wisdom back to life, as in Pietra Magica, which revives the old practice of adding Barbera skins to soften Nebbiolo, and Nascetta, a native white Piedmont grape of which only around 10,000 bottles are made a year.
A name the critics noticed first
The first to recognise the revived Mirafiore were the critics.
- Barolo Lazzarito 2021 — Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) 2025 Platinum, 97 points
- Barolo Lazzarito 2020 — Gambero Rosso “Vini d’Italia” 2025 Tre Bicchieri (highest rating)
- Barolo Lazzarito 2017 — Wine Enthusiast 96 points, Decanter 95 points
A Barolo born of a king’s love 150 years ago has become one of today’s most exciting Barolos.