Virna Barolo 2013
-
James
Suckling
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
Tar, orange peel and strawberry aromas follow through to a full body with chewy and powerful tannins and a long and flavorful finish. A structured and intense wine. Don't miss this. Crazy quality for a straight up Barolo blend. Much better in 2021.
Other Vintages
2012-
James
Suckling
The winery tries to respect the land and the vineyards and work carefully, minimizing the mechanical and chemical treatments, with the goal of healthy grapes for high quality wines. They are are moving towards the elimination of weed control in vineyards and practice between-row planting and controlled fertilization with only organic ingredients and only when necessary.
Their philosophy is to produce wines with their own character, well-rooted in the terroir, with respect for the whole vineyard. They try to interpret the potential of the Barolo terroir to produce wines that express elegance and a style that represents the region. Though the wines are from different crus, each one represents the heritage and tradition of the Barolo region.
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.