Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Fresh aromas of juicy ripe fruit with hints of mint and sage. Fresh, ripe and sweet palate with plum and black cherry flavours. Approachable now, yet to reach its peak and will keep.
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Wine Spectator
A mix of cherry, menthol, tar and aromatic herbs, this red is rich and intense, with a solid base of tannins. Licorice, mineral and spice notes come into play as this expands on the tightly wound, almost chewy finish. Shows fine balance and length. Best from 2018 through 2035.
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James Suckling
Fantastic aromas of tangerines, plums and hints of rose petal. Full body, with velvety tannins and a pretty dried fruit and spicy finish. Lots of toasted oak too but it all comes together in a juicy, fruity way. Shows pretty tannin tension too.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2010 Barolo Rocche dell’Annunziata shows a subdued personality that builds in momentum as the wine warms in the glass. There’s a strong berry theme here that recalls creme de cassis or dried raspberry at the front of the bouquet. Close behind are oak-driven tones of spice, leather and tobacco. The wine bursts forward with youthful intensity and needs more time to start its natural evolution. Drink: 2018-2027.
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.