Winemaker Notes
The color is a beautiful garnet red enriched with ruby reflections. On the nose it presents a rich fresh bouquet, elegant dominated by floweriness, with memories of flower petals, such as violets and roses. Long and intense is the aromatic persistence.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
This is a very classic La Morra. Pure liquorice root and anise aromas are full of restraint and are mirrored on the palate, along with juicy, red currants. The frame is light, with crispy, crunchy tannins and a sweet finish. Very nice Barolo...
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James Suckling
Perfumed and fresh on the nose with strawberry and cedar aromas as well as some lavender. Medium-bodied with very fine tannins and a bright finish. Delicate yet firm.
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of candied cherries, macerated raspberries, dried rose and forest floor all combine on the nose of this wine. An excellent example of the elegance of La Morra, the palate is lifted with superfine tannins that support the supple red fruit notes, mixed spices and mineral-driven finish.
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.