Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Red berry, blue flower, crushed herb and exotic spice aromas unfold in the glass. Elegant, structured and delicious, the full-bodied palate delivers red cherry and licorice, chopped mint alongside bright acidity and firm, refined tannins. It’s impeccably balanced and will age gloriously. Drink 2021 -2043.
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James Suckling
Polished and tight with blueberries, plums and light chocolate. Medium to full body, fine and juicy tannins and a fresh finish. Drink in 2018.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From Castiglione Falletto (but close to La Morra), the 2013 Barolo Bric dël Fiasc sees fruit sourced from a family-owned parcel located 270 meters above sea level with marl limestone soils on one side. The other side of the hilltop is characterized by sandy soils that you tend to see in this township. This is a darkly saturated and rich expression of Nebbiolo with bright aromas of dark cherry, dried blackberry, spice, leather and toasted hazelnut. The wine stands out for the singular elegance it possesses, especially in terms of mouthfeel. The finish is still youthful and succulent, so think long-term cellar aging.
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Wine Spectator
Pure and elegant, offering rose, cherry, strawberry, licorice and tobacco flavors. Vibrant and intense, with a long, grippy finish. A stony note peeks through on the 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.