Winemaker Notes
Since 1993 there are no longer a "standard" Barolo and a Brunate Riserva, but two different pairs of blends, all sourced from the same 4 estate vineyards. This is the cuvée of Brunate and Le Coste (10,000 bottles).
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2004 Barolo Brunate Le Coste is another magnificent wine from this vintage. Elegant, complex and nuanced, Rinaldi’s Brunate Le Coste captures the best that 2004 had to offer. Time in the glass brings out hints of cedar, leather, tobacco, dried herbs and crushed rose petal. Its complexity and persistence are both truly remarkable.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Rinaldi's 2004 Barolo Brunate Le Coste has been special every time I have tasted it over the last few years. Profoundly expressive balsamic aromas jump out of the glass, leading to layers of seductive perfumed dark fruit that continue to unfold as the wine sits in the glass. This is a truly majestic Barolo. It possesses superb weight and density in a finely-textured yet powerful style. The tannins are firm yet incredibly refined. Readers will not want to miss this exceptional wine. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2029.
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Wine Spectator
Shows loads of fresh tobacco on the nose, with strawberry jam. Full-bodied, with chewy tannins and a long, fruity finish. There's pure fruit now. Stylish, traditional winemaking. Best after 2012.
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.