Winemaker Notes
The grapes for this wine come from a vineyard located in the village of Barolo, in the Terlo geographical mention. The idea is to produce a wine that is an expression of the village, as the land parcel is on the border with the MGA Coste and close to Ravera, resulting in fine and elegant wines.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A bright Barolo with aromas of dried roses, dried violets and generous red fruit. Full-bodied, velvety and thick, yet ripe, refreshing and savory.
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Wine Spectator
Fresh flavors of sour cherry, strawberry, rose hip and rhubarb are the main themes, with accents of eucalyptus and iron. Open and fluid, this leaves a slightly dry, chalky feel on the finish, evoking underbrush and tomato leaf. Elegant and intense.
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Vinous
The 2020 Barolo del Comune di Barolo is a fine entry point to the Barolos in this range. Soft and caressing, the 2020 is quite accessible even in the early going. Pliant contours wrap around dark Nebbiolo fruit, leather and crushed flowers. Spice and floral notes reappear to lift the sensual 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.