Winemaker Notes
Vigna Colonnello is deep red with ruby hues. The nose presents pleasant aromas of rose petals, raspberries and pomegranate that follow over to hints of spices and balsamic notes. The palate is intense while at the same time exceptionally elegant with supple, mouth filling tannins. The wine closes with a long consistent finish.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Distinguished by its black label, the Prunotto 2018 Barolo Riserva Bussia Vigna Colonnello is made just like all the other wines in this portfolio (with fermentation in steel tank and oak aging), but this bottle stands apart thanks to its vintage. The 2018 growing season saw uneven results when first released to market, but it has been reevaluated since, with some truly beautiful wines making their mark today. This wine is elegantly tempered by age with spice and licorice, but it also shows bright cherry and blood orange that underline healthy fruit. It finishes on a fine and silky note, with a hint of sweetness too.
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Vinous
The 2018 Barolo Riserva Bussia Vigna Colonnello is one of the finer vintages of this wine I have tasted. Whole clusters add gorgeous aromatic dimension without dominating the wine, either from a flavor or textural standpoint. Orange peel, cinnamon, mint, new leather, cedar and hard candy open nicely to round out this complex, sensual Barolo from Prunotto.
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Wine Spectator
This elegant red reveals steeped cherry, strawberry, rose hip and herbal flavors backed by lightweight and well-integrated tannins. Balanced and fresh on the lingering finish. Almost ready. Best from 2026 through 2037
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.