Winemaker Notes
Light ruby red and faint garnet notes. Extremely fruity and delicately harmonious. Hints of strawberry and raspberry. Absolutely fine and elegant. It has good persistence, but with a finale characterized by remarkably soft tannins. It is particularly enjoyable to savor its initial freshness and then appreciate the evolution of its aromas as the wine slowly warms in the glass.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2019 Barolo Paiagallo is soft and inviting, with soft contours and tons of charm. All the elements are so well-balanced. Kirsch, blood orange, mint, sweet spice and rose petal all grace this wonderfully supple, understated Barolo. The 2019 is all class, not to mention one of the best wines I have tasted here in some time. Terrific.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Mauro Veglio 2019 Barolo Paiagallo shows some dried cherry skin, plum, tobacco and tar. This wine has a slightly closed personality, something I have been finding in quite a few wines from this vintage, and the obvious suggestion is to give it more time in bottle. There is some bramble, dried fruit and aromas that come with skin maceration that are a little heavier overall. The wine ferments on the skins for up to 28 days with twice daily pump-overs. It ages in oak casks for 24 months.
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James Suckling
A firm and silky red with plum, cherry and sandalwood character. Medium-bodied with firm tannins and a bright finish. Needs three or four years to soften. Best after 2025.
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.