Winemaker Notes
Derived from the Nebbiolo grapes from the Costa Grimaldi vineyard owned by the Einaudi estate, facing Barolo. The tannic characteristics guarantee a long life in bottle. With time it acquires complexity as the ethereal aromas of spices, truffles and leather.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2008 Barolo Costa Grimaldi reveals lovely freshness and vibrancy in its floral bouquet and delineated, nuanced fruit. Mint, licorice and sweet spices add lift and brightness throughout. The Costa Grimaldi is a bit on the delicate, feminine side in this vintage, but the balance remains compelling. In particular, the wine's focus and clarity on the finish show the qualities that make 2008 such a terrific vintage. Costa Grimaldi is made from the Via Nuova vineyard in Barolo, a cold site that does best in warmer years. In 2008, a cold year, the Costa Grimaldi comes across as compact and unyielding. If the wine fleshes out in bottle it could merit a higher score. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2028.
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Wine Enthusiast
Wild flower, dried jasmine, wild berry, hazelnut and ginger open the beautifully fragrant bouquet. The mouthfeel is tight, elegant and silky with polished tannins and fresh menthol overtones.
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.