Barolo
Elio Grasso Barbera d’Alba Vigna Martina 2021
"Raised half in new oak and half in used barrique, the 2021 Barbera D'Alba Vigna Martina is a brooding and dark beast with an opaque dark purple color and forward oak spice notes of bourbon, baked plum, black cherries, menthol, and dark earth. It feels hot on the nose and is full-bodied on the palate, with ripe tannins and tangy acidity. Its ripe, oaky profile demands more time in bottle to show at its best. This is a robust, nearly full-bodied red to cellar for another couple of years and drink over the following 6-8. It's quite powerful, but it’s going to appeal to a lot of New World drinkers." - Jeb Dunnuck
Elio Grasso Langhe Nebbiolo “Gavarini” 2022
"Raised and fermented entirely in stainless steel, the 2022 Langhe Nebbiolo Gavarini is a bright red concentrated hue and delivers expressive aromas of ripe orange peel, delicate clove spice, roses, and fresh raspberries. Medium-bodied, it’s fresh, energetic, and easygoing in nature, with fine tannins, good ripeness, and evenly balanced freshness. Approachable and youthful now, it’s is going to show its best over the next few years." - Jeb Dunnuck
Elio Grasso Barolo Ginestra Casa Maté 2019
"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 intensity and fullness with dark fruit, earth, hazelnut and dark plum. Surrounded by forests, the greenery gives balance to this wine by moderating temperatures. In fact, this site saw up to 10 degrees Celsius drops in diurnal temperatures, leading to thick skins and ideal phenolic ripeness." - Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate
Elio Grasso Barolo Gavarini Chiniera 2019
"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 vines for 45 minutes to dry them from rain right before harvest. As he tells it, this was a costly but good decision because 15 minutes after he finished harvesting on October 26, heavy rain came and lasted an entire week. Thanks to these dramatic measures, the grape skins were excellent, and maceration with submerged cap lasted 55 days. That's how perfect the skins were. This balanced wine shows extreme precision and elegance." - Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate
Luciano Sandrone Barbera d’Alba 2021
"Starting with thick concentration and inky darkness, the Luciano Sandrone 2021 Barbera d'Alba has cooked fruit aromas and some savory tones too, such as leather, spice and a hint of dusty licorice root. The style is big, and this wine is conventional with big juicy sensations. It's all very elaborate for a Barbera d'Alba, but we are talking about a vintage that naturally delivers extra concentration. Production is 25,000 bottles." - Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate
Luciano Sandrone “Valmaggiore” Nebbiolo d’Alba 2020
"The 2020 Nebbiolo d'Alba Valmaggiore is gorgeous. Crushed red berry, spice, leather, mint and rose petal all grace this exquisite, silky Valmaggiore. The aromatics alone are so beguiling, but all the elements are so nicely balanced. The 2020 is compelling today, but will be even better in another few years. " - Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Paolo Scavino Barolo Rocche dell’Annunziata Riserva 2016
"This is a stunner. The Paolo Scavino 2016 Barolo Riserva Rocche dell'Annunziata is a beautifully balanced and memorable wine that will continue to delight for years to come. It is compact and silky in texture with abundant and very lively aromas of dark fruit and wild cherry. The Rocche dell'Annunziata vineyard is located in La Morra. This is a gorgeous wine that awards lots of emotion. Production is 6,800 bottles." - Monica Larne, The Wine Advocate
Elio Grasso Barolo Riserva Rüncot 2015
"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 within its core. The bouquet reveals broad brush aromas of black fruit, blackberry preserves, smoky tar and baked plum. With 7,000 bottles made, this Riserva is smooth and velvety in texture. There's no reason why it can't hold until the mid-century mark." - Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate
Elio Grasso Barbera d’Alba Vigna Martina 2020
"The 2020 Barbera d'Alba Vigna Martina offers an appealing combination of fruit intensity with Monforte structure and savoriness. Scorched earth, leather, tobacco, cedar and dried herbs all open in the glass. A lengthy ferment with submerged cap maceration yields a distinctly Barolo-like Barbera with a good bit of complexity but less overt fruit than is often found in most Barberas." - Antonio Galloni, Vinous
