Winemaker Notes
Intense ruby red with violet reflections. Intense and smooth, with incredible harmony of red fruits and delicate rose petals. Very elegant, with subtle hints of underbrush, mint, and licorice. Vigorous, full-bodied, balanced. Great persistence in the tannins, but they are never too dry. Overall a juicy wine. Final notes of blackberry and blueberry jam.
Blend: 100% Nebbiolo
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Dark red with a brick hue, the 2020 Barolo Castelletto is spicy and contemplative, with notes of tobacco leaf, cedar, dried cherries, peppercorn, and leather. It’s firmly structured, with grippy, broad-shouldered tannins, mouthwatering mineral accents, and an earthy finish. This noble wine demands cellaring and will drink well 2026-2040.
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James Suckling
Precise, well-composed and spicy with aromas of forest berries, herbs, iron and dried orange peel. It’s medium- to full-bodied with chewy tannins. Rather firm yet it has a juicy core of succulent berries and cherries at the center. Focused finish with a sanguine character to it. Try after 2027.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This wine draws its fruit from the village of Monforte d'Alba, which is usually known for the power and medium-rich density of its Nebbiolo. The Mauro Veglio 2020 Barolo Castelletto suffers from being a little closed and never fully hits the high gears. This year's tasting from Mauro Veglio was quite difficult. With more time in the glass, the wine shows dark fruit that cedes to spice and grilled rosemary.
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Wine Enthusiast
The wine's aromatic array weaves together notes of incense, dried rose, sandalwood, and desiccated wild berries, set against a backdrop of subtle oak spices. The palate is a showcase of fruit brightness, featuring warm cherries and baking spices harmonizing with tart plum preserves and wild herbs. The experience is brought together by elegant, fine tannins that lead into a long, distinguished finish. Drink now through 2045.
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.