tasting / laying down / 2018 Barolo MICHAEL PALIJ MW’S VERDICT
While 2018 is not a “great” vintage in the Langhe, a number of wines here showed charming aromatics and ripe tannins—surely the name of the Nebbiolo game. A damp spring followed by a warm summer made for challenging conditions, but challenging is when diligent winemakers swap out tractors for hand tools and get on with the job. This tasting showed that many (though not all) did precisely that, and the wines tiptoe through red and black fruit and the exotic spiciness of the very best vintages. Occasionally, alcohols appeared a little strident, and purists could argue that the
TOP WINES
Castello di Verduno Barolo Massara 97 GD Vajra Barolo Coste di Rose 97 Ca’ Rome’ (Romano Marengo) Barolo Rapet 96 Gagliasso Barolo Rocche dell’Annunziata 96 Giacomo Fenocchio Barolo Bussia 95 Giacomo Fenocchio Barolo Villero 95 Luigi Baudana Barolo Baudana 94 Aurelio Settimo Barolo 94 Bruna Grimaldi Barolo Camilla 93 Giovanni Manzone Barolo Gramolere 93
graceful than when first poured. It’s another large- scale Barolo di Barolo in this warm vintage, and you won’t fail to notice that—but so much to enjoy. Warm, earthy, busy fruit, with an earthy finish, and a wine you could hope to put away for a decade and still find more aromatic subtleties at the end. Just a little dry and grippy at the last. | 91 MP | Another captivating example from Barolo, with a nose of red cherry, Victoria plum, licorice, straw, violets, sandalwood, tobacco, and cranberry. The tannins form the carapace of this wine, with the fruit and acidity tucked up inside and not showing much development at the moment. Has the potential to develop, but it does need time. | 91
Christian Boffa Barolo La Morra (14.5% ABV)
| 91
BB | Garnet to pink. Clean, intense, elegant nose: small red fruits, red apples, crushed stones, and herbs. Medium-bodied, super-balanced, soft, and inviting, with red fruits on the long finish. | 93 AJ | Pale and translucent. Sweet, warm, fragrant, and ethereal—beautifully aged. Fresh and pristine, though not forceful. All in impeccable taste; classical. This is what you find on the palate, too: bright, well-ordered fruits, with relatively brisk tannins and sustained, amply ripened acidity. Very good Barolo, offering huge drinking pleasure (with food, of course) before long. Sound, fruit- rounded La Morra style. | 90 MP | Diffuse and delicate nose, with some subtle red and black fruit, but this lacks power and obvious complexity. On the palate, this shows a little more weight and depth, with redcurrant, strawberry,
206 | THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 79 | 2023
Massolino Barolo Serralunga d’Alba 93 Paolo Conterno Barolo Ginestra 92 Poderi Luigi Einaudi Barolo Cannubi Barolo 92 Domenico Clerico Ciabot Mentin Barolo Ginestra 91 Figli Luigi Oddero Barolo 91
Azienda Agricola E Pira e Figli Chiara Boschis Barolo Mosconi 91
Rocche Costamagna Barolo Rocche dell’Annunziata 91 GD Vajra Barolo Bricco delle Viole 91
moderate levels of acidity and tannins might not make for old bones. The purists are entitled to their opinions—but for the rest of us, there is much to like in 2018, though one must exercise caution: 2018 did not favor the indolent. Regarding communes, both Monforte and Serralunga appear to make a star turn in this vintage, while La Morra seems less successful (or at least atypical) and lacks the high notes that often mark this commune’s wines. Those producers still clinging to the security blanket of obvious oak have lost the opportunity to highlight the fruit from this pretty vintage.
AJ | Bright pale garnet, translucent and glowing. Developed fruits, prominent and sweet and floating, with some creamy grain beneath; very attractive, teasing yet satisfying. Serene fragrance. A slightly plumper incarnation of Verduno, but the outline is still very graceful; pristine currant and pomegranate; hints of leaf and tobacco and humus. A super wine. Spotless. And Verduno, which can sometimes be a little dry in ordinary vintages, has a tenderness and almost-succulence in 2018. Wonderful wine, and bravo to its creators. | 95 MP | Densely knit nose, with blackberry, plum, tobacco, forest floor, licorice, and a hint of coffee, vanilla, and woodsmoke. On the palate, this seems unbalanced, the tannins now edging in front of the fruit and little indication that the positions will change. There is supporting acidity and attractive fruit, but the phenolics have the upper hand. | 88
Poderi Luigi Einaudi Barolo Terlo Vigna Costa Grimaldi Barolo (14.5% ABV)
| 91
raspberry, Victoria plum, charred wood, and violets. On the palate, the acidity is the star performer, with supporting tannins and moderate length. Thoughtful and well made but lacking the last word in complexity. | 90
Domenico Clerico Ciabot Mentin Barolo Ginestra Monforte d’Alba (14.5% ABV)
| 91
BB | Ruby to garnet-pink. A touch closed on the crushed-stone, red-apple, small-red-fruits nose. Balanced, medium-bodied, salty, with lively red fruit, fine tannins, and a long, youthful finish. | 93 AJ | Clear dark red. Ample gingery and gingerbread/honeycake spice, for some reason (oak?), billowing over dark, ample red fruits. Attractive if less classical and suggestive than some. Ample, juicy, plum fruits, and in fact the spices are less prominent on the palate than on the nose. Juicy, deep, energetic wine. | 89 MP | The aromatics are all there, with black and red fruit, floral and spicy notes, and the structural integrity, including fine tannins and mordant acidity. A delicious glass of contemporary Barolo laced with concentrated fruit and elegant structure. | 91
Poderi Luigi Einaudi Barolo Monvigliero Verduno (14.5% ABV) | 91
BB | Pale garnet to pink. Open nose, earthy, complex, black and red fruits, black truffles, meaty, yet fragrant and clean. Medium-bodied, a little simple on the mid-palate, with black fruits and an earthy finish. | 89
BB | Garnet to tawny. Open, mature, smoke, and tar nose, with black fruits, prunes, and black truffles. Medium to full body, mature and layered, with soft black fruits. Long and earthy finish. | 93 AJ | Clear black-red; pale and translucent. Not enormously articulate; quiet but carefully stated, pristine; delicately ordered fruits. Creamy, mushroomy, enticing. Lovely scents, drawing you into the glass. Moreover, these amplify with time in the glass. A little more linear and elemental than the aromas suggested, but a rewarding, carefully crafted, high-definition Barolo, with real charm and drive. One of the fresher Baroli di Barolo. Fine secondary charm in the tannins and wealth of fruit: a huge amount to enjoy here. | 92 MP | Delicate red-fruit aromas of plum, strawberry, licorice, and damson. No obvious oak and a lovely balance between refreshing acidity and linear tannins. On the palate, the structural components support the ripe red fruit and craft a balanced and seductive Barolo with slightly obvious, stewed red fruit and not a great deal of length, but everything is in balance. Compact and attractive. | 88
Giacomo Fenocchio Barolo Bussia Monforte d’Alba (14.5% ABV)
| 91
BB | Pale garnet to tawny. Open nose, floral and elegant, with prunes, tobacco, road tar, roses, truffles, and blood oranges. Medium body, a touch simple, ripe fruit yet clean and fairly long. | 89 AJ | Limpid black-red. Warm and inviting, seamless and round-contoured, earthy and rich (Monforte style). Lovely aromatic upholstery here. Vivid, fresh, ample, and articulate, in rich, spicy, open-pored style. Generous, amiable Barolo vintage. | 90 MP | One has to admire the tenacity of producers who pursue this uncompromising and very pure approach to crafting Barolo in the 21st century. The nose is delicate and haunting, with delicate red fruit that belies its Monforte origins. This has all the delicacy of great Barolo, with the delicacy of aromas linked to the complexity of structure. | 95
Figli Luigi Oddero Barolo Blend (14.5% ABV)
BB | Garnet to pale orange. Complex, petrol, orange-marmalade, rosewater, crushed-stones
| 91
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