Winemaker Notes
Camilla is Bruna Grimaldi's Barolo Classico and it is produced with grapes from different vineyards whose soils are similar in terms of age and composition. Barolo Camilla is elegant and beautiful. It represents the harmony and the balance of a traditional Barolo and it distinguishes for drinkability and pleasantness every vintage. The aromas are ample and floral with nuances of spices. The palate is gentle with fine tannins balanced with the typical structure, which can be appreciated in youth for those who love the energy of Barolo that reaches its best expression with a few years of bottle age.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A blend of vineyards from Grinzane, La Morra, San Lorenzo di Verduno, Bricco Ambrogio, and Badarina, the 2022 Barolo Camilla pours a transparent ruby hue. Aromatically, it’s expressive and spicy, with peppercorn, anise, red and black berries, and wildflowers. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied and approachable, with even tannins, balanced acidity, and delicate sanguine undertones. This is a highly appealing Barolo that comes together easily. 28,000 bottles were produced. Drink 2026-2036.
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Decanter
Located in Grinzane Cavour, the Bruna Grimaldi estate has amassed 14 hectares across five of Barolo’s villages. An ensemble of these various sites, Camilla offers a candid reflection of the vintage. It is streamlined and direct rather than profound, but admirably genuine for that. Vanilla, pressed rose and cardamom flit and flirt on the nose. Elegantly constructed, it builds in red berry intensity, while accents of cumin lead to a peppery snap on the finish. Fine-grained tannins shape and grip, and while a touch of heat pokes through, this remains harmonious overall.
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.