Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2006 Barolo Costa Grimaldi reveals superb intensity in its dark cherries, violets, menthol and spices. Medium to full in body, the Costa Grimaldi reveals exceptional length all the way through to the pure, finessed finish. This is the most powerful of the estate's 2006 Barolos. It is a magnificent Barolo from Einaudi. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2026.
Over the last few years Einaudi has settled into an approach that successfully combines elements of modern and traditional approaches. In 2006 the Nebbiolo harvest took place during the first half of October. The Barolos were fermented in stainless steel, and aged first in French oak and subsequently in larger, neutral casks. Einaudi is among the properties in Piedmont moving in a direction that increasingly favors large oak over small French oak barrels.
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Wine Spectator
A masculine style, displaying tar, prune, black cherry and eucalyptus notes. The tannins emerge as this crosses the palate, expanding on the lingering, spice- and leather-filled finish. Be patient. Best from 2014 through 2032.
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Wine & Spirits
A selection from Einaudi's Vigna Terlo, planted in 1962 in the commune of Barolo, this wine aged in large oak casks for two years. It's tense and spicy as a young wine, with scents of cumin and persimmon adding to the redness of the fruit. Fine acidity makes this mouthwatering, balanced by a touch of sweetness in the finish. For the cellar.
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.