2010 Giacomo Borgogno e Figli Barolo Cannubi

A Historic Barolo from a Vineyard “Kissed by God”

The 2010 vintage in Barolo will go down as the most extraordinary in decades. Parker rated the vintage 98 points; Wine Spectator countered with 96-99. Antonio Galloni called it “the greatest young Barolo vintage I have tasted in 18 years of visiting the region and a lifetime of buying, cellaring and drinking these wines.”

The long, mild growing season nursed Nebbiolo to phenomenal maturity. In the hands of the very best winemakers working with harvests from the most precious vineyards, these 2010s are both staggeringly rich and wonderfully pliant, marrying the best of Grand Cru Burgundy with textbook Piedmont backbone.

Top single-vineyard Barolos from the best estates can carry price tags that seem more at home in Vosne-Romanée than Italy. But as the dollar surges against a bevy of global currencies, rising 4.4% against the euro since the election, you may see some of these wines — currently among the finest reds on the market — offered on WineAccess at prices that read like misprints.

The Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Cannubi is one such opportunity, and trust us when we tell you it will be gone in the blink of an eye. Galloni came in with a whopping 93-95+ points, naming it “the most complete and intriguing of Borgogno’s single-vineyard Barolos” and praising the “sweet, silky tannins” and “beautifully articulated core of red-toned fruit.” Wine Spectator and James Suckling followed suit with matching 93-point scores. Selling elsewhere at $180. Today on WineAccess for just $75. That’s not only $100 off on a historic vintage — it’s the BEST price in the United States.

A number of factors lined up perfectly to produce this extraordinary Barolo. For starters, Giacomo Borgogno & Figli is a legendary producer, one of the oldest names and cellars in the region with a legacy that dates back to 1761. When the official dinner was thrown to celebrate the Italian Risorgimento (Unification) in 1861, Borgogno Barolo was poured. The last Russian czar, Nicholas II Romanov, drank it when he came to the Castle of Racconigi in 1886. The winery’s exquisitely preserved library would bring any serious collector to their knees.

But equally legendary is the plot this wine hails from: Cannubi. Fifteen acres of east- and south-east exposed Nebbiolo so ancient that they predate the Barolo classification itself, this is likely one of the greatest vineyards in the world. “Kissed by God,” Suckling once described its seemingly divine orientation. Formed 12 million years ago from sea sedimentation, the plot hosts a unique intersection of Helvetian and Tortonian terrains that yield a sandy, calcareous soil rich in magnesium, potassium, and clay. The mineral-dense composition of the soil, in combination with the site’s microclimate due to the surrounding, higher hills, makes for a Barolo of incredible aromatic complexity and superb polyphenolic concentration.

Borgogno’s Cannubi grapes have long been known for their broad-shouldered structure and age-worthiness, but in the mild, wonderfully drawn-out 2010 growing season, the Nebbiolo ripened like rarely before. The result is a Barolo of Gevrey-Chambertin-like richness and plumpness, buttressed by a sturdy tannin backbone.

The 2010 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Cannubi is medium ruby-purple in the center, with aromas of dried cherry and spice followed by seductive darker notes of tobacco and violet. Crushed red fruits — kirschy up front and darker cherry undertones. Sweetly concentrated yet detailed, almost lacy except for the punch it carries underneath. Textbook Nebbiolo with incredible concentration and purity. Ripe, sumptuously textural, and engaging into the finish.

We can’t make this any easier for you: 93-95+ points Vinous. 93 points from Wine Spectator. 93 points from James Suckling. A one-of-a-kind vineyard worked by one of the region’s oldest producers. The best Barolo harvest in a generation at the best price this side of the Atlantic. $79. You decide.

• ABV 14.50%
• Enjoy right away
• % Nebbiolo