Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto 2014
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Product Details
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Somm Note
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Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Impressive fresh leather-clad red cherries with a subtle earthiness in the background. Quite pure. Floral and aromatic. The palate has a very elegant yet powerful core of blueberries and cherries. A smooth release of fruit sweetness into the fresh and vibrant finish. Elegant and classic. More open than normal. Impressive now but better from 2022.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This wine was made in 2011 and 2012 but not in 2013. The 2014 Barolo Falletto (white label) is fascinating to taste right after the Barbaresco Riserva Asili from the same vintage. There is no doubting the extra muscle mass and power that is obtained in the Barolo appellation, and from the Serralunga d’Alba township specifically. This dramatic Barolo delivers darkness and density. It shows a beautiful appearance with faint highlights of dark ruby that add a subtle sparkle. At this point in its drinking cycle, the wine shows all the characteristic traits of its youth. This means it is more closed and rigid at present. That nervous tightness needs to be factored in when assessing the cellar longevity of this vintage. Hints of the wine’s inner complexity, sheer determination and textural fortitude are already bubbling up from deep inside this firmly layered Nebbiolo. I wanted to mention the tightness of the tannins now. These will undoubtedly serve to carry this wine forward over the coming decades.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: My pals, who casually know me, think that my I spend most of my dining time with Cabernet Sauvignon. What they don't know—like many of my peers—I often reach for the Nebbiolo, which can often reach almost unobtainable heights of greatness. The 2014 Bruno Giacosa Falletto Barolo is an outstanding wine. TASTING NOTES: This wine is omnipotent in so many ways, yet stays refined and classic. Its aromas and flavors reveal a multitude of nuances, including black fruits, leather, earth, and savory spices. Pair it with a spit-roasted leg of lamb accented with rosemary and garlic. (Tasted: March 5, 2019, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Spectator
The picture of elegance, this Barolo is nonetheless steely and solid. Delicate floral, cherry, strawberry and mineral flavors ride the chalky texture, while vibrant acidity and well-proportioned tannins drive the finish.
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One of the legendary winemakers of the world, Bruno Giacosa crafted the most prestigious single-vineyard Barolo and Barbaresco wines during a career that spanned nearly eight decades. He joined the family business at the age of 15, representing the third generation of his Langhe winemaking family. Giacosa’s unfailing pursuit of perfection, his unrivalled palate and his intimate knowledge of vineyards in the Langhe quickly drew recognition and helped establish Piedmont as a leading wine region. In 1982, Giacosa began to acquire prime parcels in Serralunga d’Alba, La Morra and Barbaresco to produce wines that are rightly regarded as the finest expressions of Nebbiolo.
His legacy rests with daughter Bruna, who continues to uphold her father’s winemaking philosophy to respect traditional techniques while using the best of modern technology. The goal is for each distinguished site to produce articulate, unique wines.
The “Azienda Agricola Falletto – di Bruno Giacosa” label represents wines made from estate vineyards. The “Casa Vinicola Bruno Giacosa” label appears on wines made from purchased grapes that are made with the same care in the Nieve winery.
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.