Winemaker Notes
Deep garnet red color. The bouquet has all the typical aromas of the Nebbiolo grape which after refining is flowery and toasty with hints of sweet spices, nuts and typically delicate herbaceous aromas. In the mouth, the perfect balance of tannins, crispness and alcohol content offer bold yet absolutely elegant and pleasing sensations. Good intensity and persistence confirm this wine as one of the best expressions of the Langa.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Lots of spicy red-fruit character here. Very ripe fruit. Hints of cedro rind, roses and a tinge of black truffle. Medium-to full-bodied with very fine and tightly packed tannins. The complex fruit character endures through the long finish. Very Barolo. Very good. Hold at least until after 2022. This will age nicely.
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Jeb Dunnuck
There are more concentrated aromas in the 2017 Barolo, with strawberry fruit leather, cedar, and dried violet floral tones. The structure is classic and powerful, with tannic grip, notes of burnt orange and plum skin, and an Amaro-like finish. Hold 3-5 years and drink 2024-2042.
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.