Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2007 Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda is a gorgeous wine that presents a stunning perspective on the Nebbiolo grape. Its magic is on full display. Ethereal and elegant, the bouquet presents a never-ending succession of wild fruit, underbrush, cola, licorice, freshly chopped mint, dried ginger, balsam overtones and exotic spice. Think of the grape’s most elegant characteristics and you get them all here. In the mouth, the wine feels fleshy and generous with thick layers of fruit that are amply supported by the firm but fine tannins. Its aging future looks bright.
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James Suckling
Aromas of dark fruits with hints of tangerines and flowers. Full body with soft, round tannins and a bright finish. Tangy and delicious. This is round and wonderfully rich with lovely fruit and a flavorful finish. Fabulously textured.
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Wine Spectator
Cherry and raspberry aromas and flavors mark this sleek, elegant red. Balsamic and tobacco notes add interest as this firms up on the dusty finish. Fresh and long.
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.