Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2011 Barolo Terlo Vigna Costa Grimaldi is a tightly wound ball of muscle, power and determination. I love the masculine intensity offered by this wine. It also shows inner harmony and a delightful level of complexity with an exciting assembly of spicy fruit and balsam herb aromas. The tannins are firm and polished but still need time to soften.
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James Suckling
A soft and silky red with plum, light chocolate and mineral character. Full body, firm tannins and a fresh finish. Plum and orange peel undertones. Better in 2017.
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Wine Spectator
Round and smooth, with cherry, raspberry and black pepper notes, framed by vibrant acidity and energetic tannins. Stays focused and long on the spice- and tobacco-laced aftertaste. Best from 2018 through 2033.
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Wine Enthusiast
Taut and tense, this opens with aromas of red berry, crushed herb, clove and whiff of menthol. The firm, tightly wound palate offers bright cherry, licorice and ground black pepper alongside assertive tannins and nervous acidity. Give this time to unwind and fully develop. Drink 2019–2031.
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.