Winemaker Notes
The 2015 Michele Chiarlo Barolo Tortoniano shows layered aromas of rose petals, juniper berries and fine spices. On the palate the acidity is balanced and the tannins are silky, leading to a long finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Violet, rose, ripe berry and minty aromas mingle with earthy whiffs of truffle, leather and game. The delicious, juicy palate doles out fleshy Marasca cherry, crushed black raspberry, licorice and tobacco framed in chewy, fine-grained tannins.
Editor's Choice
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This is a blend of Nebbiolo with about half of the fruit sourced in the Cerequio vineyard and the rest coming from other parcels, including some plantings in the Novello township. The Cerequio fruit itself comes from 30-year-old vines. This vintage shows a touch of extra sweetness and richness with blackberry, summer cherry and spice. The style achieved in the 2015 Barolo Tortoniano is an immediate and accessible one. This is a great choice for lovers of Italian wine who are only beginning to experiment with the great wines of Piedmont.
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James Suckling
Some more savory aromas lead the nose here with game, leather and crushed rose petals, as well as fresh, woody notes and cherries. The palate has a swathe of brisk acidity, driving fresh red fruit and a strong thread of fine, juicy tannins. Assertive, long 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.