Winemaker Notes
The particular mineral component of the Bussia terroir gives the wine great structure and intense color, clean and enveloping tannins with a long and consistent aftertaste. On the nose the scents of red fruits such as raspberry and very ripe pomegranate blend well with spicy and balsamic notes.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Rose, dark-spice and menthol aromas shape the nose. The aromas follow over to the focused palate along with sour cherry and licorice while taut, fine-grained tannins and bright acidity provide support. Drink after 2026.
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Decanter
Einaudi’s first release from the Bussia MGA, this hails specifically from the revered slope of Bussia Soprana. Initially restrained, traces of strawberry and raspberry come gradually into focus. At the moment the seduction is all on the palate, where layers of long, fine tannins drape over luscious, pure fruit. Mouthfilling and rich without being dense or heavy, this charming Barolo lingers with accents of sage blossom and incense. Since taking the helm, fourth-generation Marco Sardagna Einaudi has introduced a more delicate press and porous cement tanks for fermentation and post ageing in wood in the quest for a more elegant expression.
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James Suckling
The purity of fruit is impressive here with dried strawberries and raspberries with hints of dried flowers. It’s medium-to full-bodied, racy and polished. Drinkable now, but a few years will make it even better. Try in 2023 and onwards.
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.