Giovanni Manzone Barolo Le Gramolere 2004 750ml

Manzone’s 2004 Barolo Le Gramolere reveals gorgeous notes of candied cherries, spices and menthol in an elegant, sweet expression of this vineyard. It offers greater freshness than the Castelletto, with notable vibrancy to its generous fruit. The finish is delicate and long, as ethereal aromas linger in the empty glass. The Gramolere was aged predominantly in 500 liter barrels with 15-20% of the juice seeing larger 20-hectoliter barrels. It is one of the finest wines I have tasted from this small, artisanal producer. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2024.

This is a very strong set of releases from Giovanni Manzone. I have always found an element of rusticity here, but the 2004s may well signal a move towards more elegant, refined Barolos.

• Country: Italy
• Region: Piedmont
• Appellation: Barolo
• Size: 750ml
• Color: Red

Varietal

Nebbiolo

The Nebbiolo grape varietal is widely understood to be the fruit responsible for Italy’s finest aged wines. However, its popularity and reliability as a grape which gives out outstanding flavors and aromas has led it to be planted in many countries around the world, with much success. These purple grapes are distinguishable by the fact that they take on a milky dust as they begin to reach maturity, leading many to claim that this is the reason for their unusual name, which means ‘fog’ in Italian. Nebbiolo grapes produce wines which have a wide range of beautiful and fascinating flavors, the most common of which are rich, dark and complex, such as violet, truffle, tobacco and prunes. They are generally aged for many years to balance out their characteristics, as their natural tannin levels tend to be very high.