Winemaker Notes
Complex nose of rose petal, ripe fruit, orange peel, tobacco and spice lead to a palate that is generous and full-bodied, but still precise and elegant.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is incredibly powerful and structured with so much tannin backbone and ripe fruit. Aromas of plums and hazelnuts. Full-bodied and chewy. Fabulous finish. Needs three to four years to come together. Great wine. No Falleto was made in 2013. Only Le Rocche.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The recent evolution of this wine is a bit confusing. After the 2009 Barolo le Rocche del Falletto was released, the wine was not made in 2010 or 2011. The following year, we got the 2012 Barolo Falletto that I scored last year. We now return to the series with the 2013 Barolo Falleto Vigna Le Rocche—which is, of course, the white label wine. The wine shows extremely elegant and fine characteristics with a dry and streamlined approach. Fruit tones on offer are delicate and nuanced. White truffle, balsam herb, violet and licorice are folded within. The wine was a little reticent when I tasted it and it definitely needs more time to flesh out in the bottle.
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Wine Spectator
Cherry and strawberry fruit is supported by leather, licorice, mineral and tar flavors in this red, starting out detailed and elegant, turning firm and unyielding by the finish. Though assertive, the tannins stay within bounds, and this finds equilibrium in the end. Best from 2022 through 2045.
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.