Piemonte
2016 Conterno Fantino Barolo Sori Ginestra
Of these new Baroli from Conterno Fantino, the 2016 Barolo Ginestra Vigna Sori Ginestra shows the most underlying power, linearity and determination. While the other wines are a little softer and richer, especially on the mid-palate, this wine is all musc...
2016 Conterno Fantino - Barolo Vigne Pressenda,Castelletto
The Conterno Fantino 2016 Barolo Castelletto Vigna Pressenda (with 6,500 bottles produced) draws its fruit from a 1.2-hectare site in Monforte d'Alba with silty soils mixed with sand and clay. It opens to bright cherry and dried raspberry that set the ton...
2017 Conterno Fantino Barolo Sori Ginestra
An important and cellar-worthy wine, the Conterno Fantino 2017 Barolo Ginestra Vigna Sori Ginestra shows ripe fruit and wild berry, with background tones of grill herb, licorice and pressed blue flowers. There are hints of eucalyptus and white pepper that...
2017 Conterno Fantino - Barolo Mosconi Vigna Ped
The 2017 Barolo Mosconi Vigna Ped is deep, resonant and expansive, as wines from this site tend to be. In this tasting, the Mosconi is wonderfully deep. Its stature alone is compelling. And yet there is so much to the Mosconi. Readers will find a Barolo t...
2017 Conterno, Aldo - Barolo Cicala
A solid, powerful style, this expressive red is well-marked by new oak, with plum, cherry, cigar box, menthol and sun-kissed hay flavors. Balanced and lively, with refined tannins and a long, spice-infused finish. Best from 2025 through 2042. 500 cases ma...
2017 Conterno, Aldo - Barolo Romarisco
Lots of floral aromas, such as lilacs and roses, with crushed raspberries and strawberries. Sandalwood, too. Full-bodied and very powerful with incredible depth of fruit and chewy tannins. It goes on for minutes.
2018 Conterno, Aldo Barolo Colonello
Sun-kissed hay, cherry, plum, iron and tar flavors are the highlights of this expressive red. Dense and firmly structured, with a tightly knit, tannic finish. Best from 2025 through 2045. 415 cases made, 55 cases imported.
2018 Conterno, Aldo - Barolo Cicala
Mulled plum, leather, sweet tobacco, camphor, tar and oak spice aromas and flavors show fine depth and intensity in this red, which boasts a broad, dense structure, with tannins that dominate the finish for now. Shows fine balance, length and complexity, ...
2018 Conterno, Aldo - Barolo Romirasco
Sweet, aromatic spices signal this supple, complex red, which is very elegant overall. Underneath the oak, cherry, plum, iron and menthol flavors are allied to a broad profile. This is solidly built and lingers with savory, spice and mineral elements. Bes...
2017 Conterno, Giacomo - Barolo Cerretta
Thanks to altitude and heavier soils, Cerretta performs well in hot vintages, such as 2017, 2015 and 2011. The vines (planted a quarter century ago) sit at about 400 meters in elevation and water moisture is absorbed by the clay of Serralunga d'Alba. Thes...
2018 Conterno, Giacomo - Barolo Cerretta
Tasted from barrel, the Giacomo Conterno 2018 Barolo Cerretta is shaping up to be a beauty. What stands out most at this very young stage is the quality and the elegant tightness of the tannins. Cerretta fruit from Serralunga d'Alba makes for powerful, st...
2018 Conterno, Giacomo - Barolo Arione
The 2018 Barolo Arione is an imposing wine. It's presence alone is impossible to miss. Arione is a wine that demands attention. There is something wild and exotic - almost animalistic - about the Arione and the way it asserts itself. Time in the glass ...
2018 Conterno, Giacomo - Barolo Arione DOUBLE MAGNUM
The 2018 Barolo Arione is an imposing wine. It's presence alone is impossible to miss. Arione is a wine that demands attention. There is something wild and exotic - almost animalistic - about the Arione and the way it asserts itself. Time in the glass ...
2018 Conterno, Giacomo - Barolo Cascina Francia
The 2018 Barolo Francia is powerful, deep and also a touch austere. It shows the edginess of all the 2018s, but also has a feeling of textural creaminess that adds tons of character. Spice, menthol, leather and a whole range of balsamic overtones build...
2019 Conterno, Giacomo - Barolo Cerretta
The 2019 Barolo Cerretta has shut down considerably since I last tasted it, but the elements are also more put together in that the wine is a harmonious whole rather than a combination of individual components. Dark red fruit, rose petal, orange peel, spi...
2016 Conterno, Paolo - Barolo Ginestra
2016 Conterno, Paolo - Barolo Riva del Bric
J.M is the smallest producer of Rhum Agricole in Martinique because it is the last 100% estate grown sugarcane rhumerie on the island. We have taken this commitment because of how proud we are of the high quality of sugarcane coming from this particular m...
2016 Corino, Renato - Barolo La Morra
I love these wines that source fruit from a single comune, or village, in the Barolo appellation. The entry-level Renato Corino 2016 Barolo del Comune di La Morra showcases silky tannins, loose textural fiber and pretty berry accents. Once you break it al...
2016 Corino, Renato - Barolo Arborina
The 2016 Barolo Arborina is powerful and tightly wound, with explosive energy that is just waiting to fully emerge. Readers will find an especially rich, potent expression of this Arborina site. Black cherry, violet, lavender and spice add to a real sense...
2015 Damilano - Barolo Cannubi
Lots of dried flowers, mushrooms and earth to the ripe and exotic fruit. Full body, chewy and intense tannins and a flavorful finish. The quality of the tannins is impressive with finesse and elegance to the richness. Needs lots of time to come together
2016 Damilano - Barolo Cannubi
The Damilano 2016 Barolo Cannubi shows depth and a profound nature. This is the DNA of the Cannubi cru, maybe the most celebrated in the appellation with mildly compact, well-draining sandy soils (actually, a mix of 45% sand, 35% silt and 20% clay, to be ...
2012 Damilano - Barolo Cannubi
A tannic and structured red with dried-strawberry, stone and cedar character. Medium-to full-bodied, chewy and muscular — yet polished and well-formed. Drink or hold. Better in 2020 but so classy now.
2016 Diego Conterno - Barolo
A firm, lightly chewy Barolo with cherry, walnut and chocolate aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied, savory and long. Shows intensity and focus. Better after 2022.
2015 L. Einaudi - Barolo Cannubi
A beautiful sense of resolve on the first impression with perfectly ripe red cherries taking center stage on the nose.
2016 Einaudi - Barolo Costa Grimaldi
A ripe, layered Barolo with lots of dried strawberry, blueberry and floral aromas and flavors. It is rather more flamboyant red for this producer. Drinkable now, but better after 2023.
2016 Einaudi - Barolo Bussia
The 2016 Barolo Bussia is laced with a whole range of sweet floral and balsamic overtones, along with striking underpinnings of structure and tannin that give the wine its shape. A wine of energy, tension and nuance, the Bussia is just superb in 2016. Tim...
2016 Einaudi - Barolo Cannubi
The 2016 Barolo Cannubi is ample and generous, with terrific textural resonance and breadth. Ripe dark cherry, plum, spice, licorice, new leather and menthol all flesh out in a supple, racy Barolo loaded with class and personality. The 2016 is rich, sensu...
2017 Einaudi - Barolo Cannubi
The 2017 Barolo Cannubi is sensual and inviting from the very first taste. What the 2017 might lack in terms of structure or complexity it more than makes up for with its open, embracing personality. All the elements come together so effortlessly. Sweet r...
2017 Einaudi - Barolo Bussia
The 2017 Barolo Bussia is complex and ethereal in the glass. A whole range of floral and spiced notes give the Bussia its striking aromatic presence. Silky and harmonious, the Bussia is already very easy to enjoy. Even so, my impression is that the 2017 i...
2017 Einaudi - Barolo Bussia MAGNUM
Original sale price $165
2015 Elio Grasso - Barolo Riserva Runcot
The last time we saw this iconic wine was in 2013 (a vintage that earned a perfect score). Following up on that success, the Elio Grasso 2015 Barolo Riserva Rüncot is a generous, open-knit Nebbiolo that has much of the warmth and sunshine locked deep with...
2016 Ettore Germano - Barolo Prapo
The 2016 Barolo Prapo captures all of the wild, unrestrained character that is so typical of wines from this district of Serralunga. Dried herbs, menthol, underbrush, licorice, pine, cloves and incense play off a core of dark fruit. Virile and imposing, w...
2016 Fenocchio, G. - Barolo Riserva Bussia
The 2016 Barolo Riserva Bussia 90 Dì is terrific. Sweet red cherry, kirsch, blood orange, mint, spice and rosewater lend notable aromatic presence. Medium in body and beautifully delineated, the 2016 impresses with its sublime classiness and impeccable ba...
2015 Fratelli Revello - Barolo Rocche dell'Annunziata
2015 Gagliasso - Barolo Torriglione
Guyot method with medium-short pruning. Fermentation in temperature controlled stainless steel vats. 15-17 days maceration; malolactic fermentation in stainless steel vats. 12 months in French barrels (50% new oak and 50% oak aged 2 years) and then blende...
2016 Gagliasso - Barolo Riserva
Complex and intense aromas of red fruits intermixed with licorice, prune, leather, smoke and notes of toasty oak and vanilla. Full-bodied on the palate with loads of ripe dried and candied fruits, pepper and mocha.
2019 Giacosa - Barolo Le Rocche Faletto
Purchased in 1980, the Falletto estate is comprised of 13 hectares (32 acres) in the commune of Serralunga d’Alba. Considered by Bruno Giacosa as the best area for producing elegant and long-lived Barolos, the Falletto vineyard is southwest facing on steep slopes of calcareaous clay soils in an amphitheater shape. The estate features a single plot known as Vigna Le Rocche, which contains the oldest vines and produces wines that are vinified and bottled separately from the rest of the estate. The Falletto wines are austere, elegant and complex on the nose, with excellent structure and suave tannins.
2019 Giacosa - Barolo Falletto
Purchased in 1980, the Falletto estate is comprised of 13 hectares (32acres) in the commune of Serralunga d’Alba. Considered by Bruno Giacosa as the best area for producing elegant and long-lived Barolos, the Falletto vineyard is southwest facing on steep slopes of calcareaous clay soils in an amphitheater shape. The Falletto wines are austere, elegant and complex on the nose, with excellent structure and suave tannins
2017 Grasso, Elio - Barolo Gavarini Chiniera
Grasso's 2017 Barolo Gavarini Chiniera is fabulous. In fact, the Gavarini is easily one of the wines of the vintage because it retains all of its classic signatures, which is also the sign of a first-class vineyard. Bright and vibrant in the glass, the Ga...
2017 Grasso, Elio - Barolo Casa Mate Ginestra
The 2017 Barolo Ginestra Casa Mate is a dark, mysterious wine. Black cherry, menthol, tobacco, licorice, spice, new leather and pine meld together in a super-classic expression of Ginestra. Deep, rich and enveloping, the 2017 is so impressive in the early...
2018 Grasso, Elio - Barolo Gavarini Chiniera
The Gavarini Chiniera vineyard is shaped like an amphitheater with thick forests at the back (which protects from cold air currents) and sandy chalk soil at 380 meters in elevation. This is a special site, and the Elio Grasso 2018 Barolo Gavarini Chiniera...
2018 Grasso, Elio - Barolo Casa Mate Ginestra
From a vineyard located across from Gavarini Chiniera, this is a slightly more robust and concentrated wine. The 2018 Barolo Ginestra Casa Maté sources its fruit from a position at a slightly lower elevation with a bigger component of clay in the soils. ...
2019 Grasso, Elio - Barolo Gavarini Chiniera
With vines adjacent to forests on white chalky soils, the Elio Grasso 2019 Barolo Gavarini Chiniera is a luminous and very beautiful wine. Vintner Gianluca Grasso called this "the helicopter vintage" because he actually rented a helicopter to fly over the...
2019 Grasso, Elio - Barolo Casa Mate Ginestra
Very different from the Gavarini Chiniera, the 2019 Barolo Ginestra Casa Maté shows more bite, structure and a bigger tannic impact. Fruit was harvested a bit earlier, but healthy grape skins allowed for 52 days of maceration. This wine shows beautiful in...
2015 La Spinona - Barolo Sori Gepin
The 2015 Barolo Sori' Gepin needs quite a bit of air to open, but it is so expressive as that starts to happen. Dried flowers, cedar, tobacco and autumn leaves are laced together in a mid-weight, savory Barolo loaded with character. The 2015 remains ne...
2015 La Spinona - Barolo Cru Bergera
This is a dense, serious red with dried-strawberry, orange-peel and walnut character on the nose and palate. Full body and firm, chewy tannins that are polished and refined at the same time. This needs time to soften, but I like the sleek, linear path in ...