Nebbiolo

2012 Barolo: “Grace Under Pressure” There’s a saying on Wall Street: Be first, be smarter, or cheat. We’re not smart enough to cheat, so we get there first. Rarely has that been so important as after the 2012 Barolo vintage reports landed. Tales of a challenging growing season guaranteed that the cream would rise to…

“Grace Under Pressure” a WineAccess First: $29.99 Quality Barolo We’ll make this one short, but, as it pertains to world-class BARGAIN Italian reds, it’s never been sweeter. Of the extraordinary vintages of the last decade, if we had to choose just one that offered up the juiciest, most pliant, and plush Barolos since the dawn…

As Piedmont enthusiasts know—the lovers of Italy’s elegant, finesse-driven, collector-worthy Nebbiolo-based reds—2013 was potentially the greatest vintage of recent memory, equaling or bettering 2008 and 2010. “If you love age-worthy Nebbiolo, then stock your cellar with 2013 Barolo,” advised Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. This 2013 Carlo Revello & Figli Barolo R.G., from Carlo and his…

Wine pros speak about Barolo’s Cannubi vineyard in the same reverential tones as Napa’s To Kalon or Burgundy’s Le Chambertin. Antonio Galloni once called it “among the most precious vineyards anywhere in the world.” The Damilano family farms more than half of this magical cru, which means they know exactly where the sweetest spots are—and…

When we first tasted the 2013 Fratelli Giacosa Barolo Bussia, we naturally assumed that it would arrive here closer to $80 a bottle, or more. After all, it stopped us dead in our tracks with its razor’s edge balance between fruit and floral aromatics. We could hardly believe it ourselves. Bussia, after all, is widely…

Purposefully Declassified By Top Barolo Estate If we simply told you that critic Antonio Galloni of Vinous called Borgogno & Figli’s No Name “one of the best values in the world of wine,” and left it at that, who could blame us? That endorsement alone would probably be enough to dry up our tiny allocation…

They don’t call Barolo “The King of Italian Wines,” for nothing. With the possible exception of Burgundy, no region quite shows off its terroir like Barolo, and this is your chance to secure the rare Mazone Giovanni Barolo Castelletto, a 95-point single-vineyard stunner.  Simply put, it’s hard to go wrong with 2013 Barolo. Antonio Galloni,…

When we tasted Massimo Rattalino’s 2013 Trentoquattro34 Barolo at a trattoria in San Francisco’s Mission District, it sent us reeling: Just beginning to soften after six years, this Barolo was bursting with aromatics of black olives and dried roses, laden with deep red and black fruits, and integrating beautifully.  That first sip told us it…

Tiny Production Traditional Barolo from a Modernist Master Barolo lovers know that the incredible interplay of red fruit and floral aromatics, the fine delineation and captivating tension, the ripe black cherries accented by moist tobacco, all create a transcendent experience in these Piedmont beauties. One of our all-time favorites — the 2013 Silvio Grasso Barolo…

The Elegant Side of Single-Vineyard Barolo The single-vineyard, 95-point 2014 Aldo Conterno Barolo Colonnello is proof that this generations-old producer is one of the best in Piedmont. Wine Spectator praised it as “powerful and complex,” specifically calling out its “darker fruit flavors of black cherry and plum,” while Decanter loved its “charming, floral red fruit…