Michele Chiarlo Barolo Tortoniano 2010
-
Spectator
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Spectator
Fresh, elegant and detailed, this red offers cherry, strawberry, floral, licorice, tar and tobacco aromas and flavors. Firms up on the long finish, remaining fresh and complex. Best from 2018 through 2033.
-
James Suckling
Wow. This shows such a wonderful, complex fruit character of dried berries, lemon rind and ash. Some cloves, too. Full body with silky tannins and a fruity finish.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2010 Barolo Tortoniano is aged in large oak cask for two years and shows an impressive level of fruit boldness and extraction. Although the style is plush and -modern- on the Barolo continuum, Tortoniano is a seamless expression with supple tannins and fresh acidity that meld into one beautiful whole. Drink: 2016-2025.
Rating: 92+ -
Wine Enthusiast
Aromas suggest subtle oak, vanilla and espresso with whiffs of leather and balsam. The bright palate offers candied red cherry accented with white pepper, nutmeg, clove, coffee bean and grilled sage alongside bracing tannins. Drink 2018–2038.
Other Vintages
2019-
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Suckling
James
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine -
Suckling
James
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spectator
Wine
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Suckling
James
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spectator
Wine
-
Suckling
James -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Wong
Wilfred -
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert -
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert
The wine producing firm of Michele Chiarlo was founded in 1956 by the sole and present owners, Michele and Giuseppina Chiarlo. Son of over seven generations of esteemed wine growers, Mr. Chiarlo is today one of the most respected producers of the fine wines of Piedmont and a leading figure in its viticultural industry.
At the production and vineyard level, where quality begins, Michele Chiarlo has for thirty years pursued an endless search for control over the finest vineyard sites in each of the zones from which he produces his wines. Perhaps the crown jewel among these is the vineyard of Fornace di Tassarolo in the Rovereto area of Gavi, a small parcel planted in 1910 which yields a brilliant and intense Gavi of exquisite refinement. He also has long-term agreements with the owners of two spectacular vineyards in the Castiglione Falleto and Serralunga crus of Barolo, from which he produces Barolo Riserva Rocche di Castiglione and Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda di Serralunga. In addition to these contracts, he has also purchased the Antico Podere Averame in the Cerequio cru of Barolo, considered one of the zone's finest Nebbiolo vineyards; and an estate, also in Barolo in the cru of Cannubi, which due to its extremely sharp gradient had never been cultivated. With considerable capital investment, this vineyard has been terraced and brought into production, the first time such a project has ever been undertaken in Piedmont.
In 1995, Michele Chiarlo acquired the estate of Azienda Agricola Aluffi in Castelnuovo Calcea, considered to the most beautiful and prestigious property in the heart of the classic Barbera d'Asti zone. The estate is comprised of two separate vineyard holdings, La Court and Il Castello, with a total area of 62 acres of which 50 are planted in Barbera vines, quite extensive for this area. The principally southwest and easterly-exposed slopes support superb, calcium and mineral rich soils which are of ideal composition for the production of great Barbera d'Asti.
Michele Chiarlo directly manages or personally oversees every aspect in the production of his wines. Eminently qualified through the expertise acquired through his involvement with the company under his father, he also holds a degree from the prestigious School of Enology at Alba. His ceaseless innovation, both in production and in marketing, has gained him the respesct of his industry.
Responsible for some of the most elegant and age-worthy wines in the world, Nebbiolo, named for the ubiquitous autumnal fog (called nebbia in Italian), is the star variety of northern Italy’s Piedmont region. Grown throughout the area, as well as in the neighboring Valle d’Aosta and Valtellina, it reaches its highest potential in the Piedmontese villages of Barolo, Barbaresco and Roero. Outside of Italy, growers are still very much in the experimentation stage but some success has been achieved in parts of California. Somm Secret—If you’re new to Nebbiolo, start with a charming, wallet-friendly, early-drinking Langhe Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo d'Alba.
The center of the production of the world’s most exclusive and age-worthy red wines made from Nebbiolo, the Barolo wine region includes five core townships: La Morra, Monforte d’Alba, Serralunga d’Alba, Castiglione Falletto and the Barolo village itself, as well as a few outlying villages. The landscape of Barolo, characterized by prominent and castle-topped hills, is full of history and romance centered on the Nebbiolo grape. Its wines, with the signature “tar and roses” aromas, have a deceptively light garnet color but full presence on the palate and plenty of tannins and acidity. In a well-made Barolo wine, one can expect to find complexity and good evolution with notes of, for example, strawberry, cherry, plum, leather, truffle, anise, fresh and dried herbs, tobacco and violets.
There are two predominant soil types here, which distinguish Barolo from the lesser surrounding areas. Compact and fertile Tortonian sandy marls define the vineyards farthest west and at higher elevations. Typically the Barolo wines coming from this side, from La Morra and Barolo, can be approachable relatively early on in their evolution and represent the “feminine” side of Barolo, often closer in style to Barbaresco with elegant perfume and fresh fruit.
On the eastern side of the Barolo wine region, Helvetian soils of compressed sandstone and chalks are less fertile, producing wines with intense body, power and structured tannins. This more “masculine” style comes from Monforte d’Alba and Serralunga d’Alba. The township of Castiglione Falletto covers a spine with both soil types.
The best Barolo wines need 10-15 years before they are ready to drink, and can further age for several decades.