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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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Endless layers of dark, balsamic-infused fruit emerge from the 2008 Barolo Brunate-Le Coste. Tar, licorice spices and plums develop in the glass. Where the Cannubi/S. Lorenzo is seductive, the Brunate-Le Coste is all about power. Virile and imposing, the 2008 is likely to require another decade to start showing its true personality, but the truth is, it is already highly appealing. Violets, menthol, tar and rose petals are just some of the many notes that burst from this super-classic Barolo. The 2008 Brunate-Le Coste is another dazzling wine from Beppe Rinaldi and his daughter Marta. It is easily among the very best wines of the year. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2038.
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Wine Spectator
There's purity and perfume to the raspberry and cherry flavors in this Barolo, whose tannins are civilized and integrated into the elegant frame. This is intense and lingers with spice and tobacco notes. Best from 2014 through 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.