Winemaker Notes
Aromas of rose, red berries, licorice, and spice, with hints of tobacco and earthy notes, lead to a structured yet refined palate with firm tannins, vibrant acidity, and a long, harmonious finish.
Pairs beautifully with braised meats, game, rich stews, truffle dishes, and aged cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
A combination of cherry, mint, tar and licorice marks this solidly structured red. The muscular tannins and lively acidity are assertive today, yet overall this shows balance and fine length. Best from 2027 through 2045.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2019 Arnaldo Rivera BAROLO BUSSIA shows a medium ruby color with brick edges; opens with an evocative, almost transportive aroma—like an early morning walk through John McLaren Park with Riley at your side; scrumptious and satiny on the palate; bright berry flavors glide effortlessly; finishes silky, refined, and utterly delectable—an inspired match for a heroic Piemontese plate of agnolotti del plin al sugo d’arrosto, where delicate hand-pinched pasta and a deeply savory roast jus echo the wine’s elegance while its satin texture wraps seamlessly around each rich, soulful bite. (Tasted: April 6, 2026, San Francisco, CA)
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James Suckling
A fragrant nose with cherries, dried wild strawberries, spicy herbs, cardamom and citrus peel. Dried flowers, too. Medium- to full-bodied, crunchy and vibrant with firm and dusty tannins and fresh red berry character. Tangy and zesty finish with mineral chalkiness to it.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Arnaldo Rivera 2019 Barolo Bussia shows a dark and savory side of Nebbiolo with thick concentration, dried cherry, plum, spice and oak-driven aromas of toast and tobacco. The tannins, with some bitterness, are prominent, and they seem to come both from the fruit and the barrel aging process. You get a powerful and very rich expression of Bussia in this wine.
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Wine Enthusiast
This cru Barolo leaps from the glass with aromas of candied cherries and macerated raspberries all layered with clove, anise and cinnamon. Elegant and pretty, the palate vacillates between its core of vibrant cherry with anise and dried roses and leaves finishing with fine yet firm tannins. Drink 2025–2038.
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.