Winemaker Notes
Brovia’s late-round strategy of assembling one great wine paid off enormously, and the end result is not just good—it is shockingly gorgeous. The nose soars, laden with the beautiful, complex, almost philosophical spice of great Nebbiolo, and anchored by dark, savory fruits. “Unio” is a densely-boned fighter whose musculature makes up in definition what it lacks in size. The vintage’s lightness is felt not in any sense of dilution but in a sense of mesmerizing clarity—the kind of clear-eyed freshness that the heft of riper vintages sometimes masks. In the absence of excess flesh, the wine’s profound minerality is positively arresting, reading as chiseled and foundational rather than as an undertone or a grace note. Furthermore, the family’s remarkable feel for well-judged extraction is on full display here, as the tannins are as perfect as could be imagined—neither coerced past their natural potential nor buffed into insignificance.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Here's an interesting expression from Alex Sanchez and Elena and Cristina Brovia in Castiglione Falletto. The 2014 Barolo Unìo opens to a dark color tonality and an immediately velvety texture. The bouquet is brimming with dark fruit aromas spanning from Morello cherry to bitter currant. Spice, tar, cola and balsam herb fill in the background evenly and with harmony. This is a well-balanced wine from the 2014 vintage that shows impressive integrity across all the senses.
Rating: 93+
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Wine Enthusiast
Iris, new leather, aromatic herb and dark spice are just some of the aromas you'll find on this fragrant, focused red. The chiseled, elegantly structured palate is all about firm finesse, offering red cherry, cranberry, star anise, chopped mint and white pepper framed in taut refined tannins and vibrant acidity. Still youthfully austere, it's a classic Barolo reminiscent of times gone by, and will be even better in a few more years.
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Decanter
Rather than produce a range of single vineyard wines, this long-established producer decided in 2014 to produce a single blend. The nose is ripe and juicy, with raspberry and sour cherry aromas. It's suave and concentrated, but with a beguiling juiciness rather than depth and weight. It's vigorous, textured by its fine-grained tannins, and long.
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James Suckling
Focus and finesse to this 2014 Barolo with medium body and firm tannins. Polished and refined red. Bright and clean. Drink now.
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.