Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
A pretty red, this boasts cherry, raspberry, blood orange, rose and mineral aromas and flavors. The stealthy structure builds as this unfolds and expands on the vibrant aftertaste, where savory elements of wild herbs emerge. Shows superb harmony and length.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The third release of this cuvée, 2021 Barolo Bussia comes from an organically farmed site in Bussia Sottana that the Rinaldi family was able to purchase in 2022. The wine opens to notes of blood orange, clove, cranberry, cinnamon, and toasted incense. The palate offers sanguine iron richness, with a long feel that extends through the palate, accompanied by ripe tannins that expand slightly through the midpalate and remarkably long finish. It’s incredibly fun to see this wine's third vintage with a clear finesse-driven signature, yet from a different place. Drink 2026-2046.
Rating: 96+ -
Vinous
The 2021 Barolo Bussia is a classy, elegant wine that shows all the dynamic energy that is typical of this district. Spice, leather, incense and dried flowers come alive in the glass, framed by youthful, grippy tannins that lend shape and dimension. Dense and layered, with fine balance, the Bussia is terrific in the early going.
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James Suckling
Restrained and austere on the nose, with rhubarb, sweet violets, blood oranges, cherry stones and licorice. Full-bodied with crisp acidity, velvety refined tannins, toasty flavors and an austere if not rustic finish.
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.