Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Enticing scents of rose petals, violet, tilled earth and leather mingle on this wine hailing from the historical heart of the celebrated Cannubi vineyard. The vibrant palate offers crushed dark cherry accented with cinnamon, clove and a touch of vanilla alongside silky tannins. Balanced and loaded with finesse, it will develop more complexity over the next few decades. Drink 2020–2040.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2010 Barolo Cannubi is beautifully finessed and pure with etched aromas of cola, tar, pressed violets and balsam herb that are straight out of the Nebbiolo playbook. It shows power and extreme elegance in equal measure. Compared to the 2009 vintage that was lighter in the mouth, the 2010 edition is both generous and enduring. It shows the very best of Cannubi, the vineyard cru responsible for one of the most important interpretations of the mighty Nebbiolo grape variety. I look forward to revisiting this wine in ten years or more
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Wine Spectator
Polished and focused on the cherry, strawberry and raspberry flavors, with plenty of structure for support. Effortlessly fresh and balanced, showing sweet fruit and refined tannins on the long finish. Best from 2017 through 2035
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James Suckling
This is a very floral Barolo with lots of rose-petal character and tar undertones. Full body with chewy tannins and a medium finish. Needs time to soften.
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.