Winemaker Notes
Ruby red, almost garnet in color. Deeply aromatic with notes of ripe fruit and licorice. Harmonious on the palate, delicate in tannins and rich in red fruit. A perfect pairing with pasta, grilled filet and aged cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Lots of tar, prunes and a hint of lavender. The palate is medium-bodied with a set of precise, timid tannins, accompanied by juicy blue-fruit flavors that persist throughout the finish. Better from 2028.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Dedicated to paternal figure Armando, who founded the estate in 1971, this is another faithful example of the house style that puts aromas of dried herb, bramble and dark grape skins front and center. The Parusso 2021 Barolo Perarmando also offers aromas of rose and dried iris. The bouquet is linear and focused. The wine follows through with a powerful and direct style over a long finish. There are hints of clove and exotic spice to close.
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Wine Spectator
Eucalyptus, juniper, raspberry, cherry and rose hip flavors are allied to a succulent texture in this Barolo. It's fruity overall, despite the balsamic side and well balanced, with a moderate grip of tannins on the earthy 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.