Winemaker Notes
Tradition dictates that Nebbiolo isn't harvested until it has been kissed by the first fogs of autumn, a sign that the long growing season it needs to ripen fully is finally coming to an end. As a fourth-generation Barolista, Guido Porro is well versed in tradition, and it guides his hand in the vineyard and the cellar. This Barolo comes from the Gianetto cru in Serralunga d'Alba with a prime southeastern exposure to catch the morning sun. The Barolos of Serralunga are renowned for their power and longevity, and while Porro's Gianetto is not the unyielding, tannic beast of old, it will certainly benefit from a few years in your cellar.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A jeweled ruby hue, the 2021 Barolo Gianetto offers sweetly perfumed aromas of black cherries, tarry earth, lavender, and anise. From the east side of the Serralunga hill where sandy soils and cooler exposure shape the wine, it is medium to full-bodied, with vibrant tension, ripe tannins, and refreshing acidity. Red fruit notes and zesty spice carry through the finish.
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Vinous
The 2021 Barolo Giannetto is laced with macerated cherry, blood orange, spice, cedar and pipe tobacco. Fleshy and quite deep, with terrific resonance, the 2021 has much to recommend it. This is one of the more overt Porro Barolos I can remember tasting of late. Readers will have a hard time keeping their hands off this jewel of a wine.
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.