Winemaker Notes
This Barolo is distinguished by the “spicy elegance” that is the territorial hallmark of the wines of Verduno. It is produced according to the traditional practice of blending grapes from several vineyards; in this case five: Pisapola, Riva Rocca, Campasso, Rocche dell’Olmo and Boscatto.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
The wine strikes a harmonious blend of lifted red fruits and deep macerated black cherries, marrying high tones with rich bass notes. A savory embrace circles the fruit, maintaining balance, while fine tannins lay the groundwork for graceful aging. This is a wine poised for evolution, its intricate layers promising to unfold beautifully over time. Drink 2025 - 2045.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Bright ruby in color, the 2020 Barolo Del Comune Di Verduno is fresh with aromas of sweet red strawberries, fresh orange, a hint of pepper, and dried earth. Its freshness and elegance continue on the palate, where this medium-bodied red offers fine tannins, balance, and finesse, with a clean, refined feel of strawberry and spice. A beautiful wine, it’s going to drink well over the coming 10 years.
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Wine Spectator
A rich red, with a mineral and structural underpinning to its cherry, plum, menthol, rose hip and earth flavors. Taut and well-delineated, this is driven by vibrant acidity. Though compact, the aftertaste echoes both the fruit and savory elements.
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James Suckling
A tense and racy Barolo that offers plenty of red fruit, spices, dried citrus peel and hints of crushed stones and nutmeg. Medium-bodied, dense and structured on the palate with velvety tannins. I like the mineral backbone and lingering spicy finish. Better from 2027.
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.