Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Underbrush, toasted hazelnut, eucalyptus and woodland-berry aromas mingle together on this elegant red. On the linear, structured palate, firm refined tannins accompany red cherry, spiced cranberry, mint and tobacco alongside fresh acidity. Drink 2024–2036.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Giulia Negri 2016 Barolo La Tartufaia is a light to mid-weight expression with delicate touches of cassis, dried berry, violets and rose petal. There are earthy tones as well that slowly segue to tobacco and light spice. All said and done, the mouthfeel is light considering the power of this classic vintage, but the wine is accessible and approachable from the get-go. A tad more humph and power would go a long way here to drive persistence.
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Wine & Spirits
Giulia Negri com-bines grapes from her Serradenari plots with fruit from 40-year-old vines in the Brunate cru to make this dark and silky Barolo. Juicy cherry and black-raspberry flavors show loamy notes and hints of rhubarb that bal-ance the bright fruit tones.
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.