Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Rose, pine forest, wild berry, new leather and star anise are just some of the aromas you’ll find on this drop-dead gorgeous wine. Firmly structured, elegant and thoroughly delicious, the radiant palate shows restraint and depth. It delivers juicy Marasca cherry, raspberry compote, licorice and tobacco against tightly knit, noble tannins while fresh acidity keeps it impeccably balanced. It’s focused and compelling, but hold for even more complexity. An absolutely stellar showing. Drink 2026–2056.
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Decanter
This estate is run by two sisters, and owns parcels of Barolo in various communes. Brovia is widely regarded as the best exponent of the Brea cru in Serralunga, and Ca' Mia Brea comes from a 1ha monopole inside the Brea vineyard. The juicy raspberry nose is ripe and generous. Rich and compact, the wine packs a punch without being too extracted. Assertive and youthful, it has a robust finish and firm structure, and a long chocolatey finish, although the wine is aged in large casks. Drinking Window 2022 - 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.