Winemaker Notes
On the nose there are hints of plum, raspberry, ripe red and black cherry, blackberry, and licorice. The palate is classic: rich and powerful with silky, well-integrated tannins.
Pair this wine with pasta with meat sauce, braised or roasted red meats, and aged cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Subtle aromas of red cherries, wild strawberries, dried roses, stones and pink peppercorns. Juicy and savory with a medium body. It has firm structure that builds up on the palate. Dense and meaty with a lingering aftertaste. Try from 2028.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Ripe ruby red, the 2020 Barolo San Giuseppe is expressive on opening, with fruity and floral notes of wild raspberry preserve, wet stone, fresh lavender, and sweet herbs. Medium-bodied and elegant on the palate, it has ripe tannins, a weightless feel, and a clean finish, retaining its elegant and refreshing feel. Drink 2024-2034.
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Vinous
The 2020 Barolo San Giuseppe is redolent of dark cherry, gravel, incense, leather, game and dried herbs. Potent yet dynamic in the glass, the 2020 has a lot to offer. I would prefer to drink it over the next decade or so, its considerable power notwithstanding.
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Wine Spectator
A beam of pure cherry marks this ripe, round red. Supple, picking up earth, iron and savory underbrush notes as this winds down on the long aftertaste. Balanced and overall feels elegant despite the solid base of tannins. Best from 2028 through 2045. 6,000 cases made, 300 cases imported.
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Wine Enthusiast
The wine boasts a profile of dark fruits that are both lush and rounded, creating a sense of opulence. The texture is plush and the overall impression is one of prettiness and approachability. A hint of dried leaf graces the fine finish, adding an elegant touch to the wine's well-crafted balance.
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.