tasting / laying down / 2020 Barolo


Poderi Luigi Einaudi Barolo Monvigliero Verduno 2020 (14.5% ABV)


| 94


SH | The color is mid-ruby without any evolution. The nose is softly fragrant and enticing, a hedonistic mix of floral notes, such as iris, violet, and rose, as well as ripe red cherry in alcohol. The nose is persistent and multi-layered and, like the very best wines, evolves in the glass. On the palate, the wine is voluptuous and velvety, punctuated by floral notes that come and go. The texture is gentle and embracing but there is a slight greenness and a bitter-cherry flavor that contrasts with the velvety texture and hedonistic floral notes. This wine has a lot of charm but not quite perfect harmony in this vintage. 2025–36. | 96 AJ | Garnet-red with scarlet glints. Fresh, delicately stated, curranty fruits, and a very welcome fine-leather complexity behind those fruits. Aromas of compelling refinement here: excellent. Softly expressed. Firm, with measured pace; brisk acidity and brisk tannins, too. Better concentration than many, and a sense of incipient complexity beginning to beckon. Unshowy but satisfying wine. 2025–36. | 90 MP | Discreet nose, showing elegant, cool- climate notes of strawberry, hawthorn, red cherry, red apple, mulberry, and strawberry jam. The nose is beautifully elegant, with


SUSAN HULME MW’S VERDICT


2020 was a hot vintage but without excessive heat spikes. According to Italy’s leading vineyard cartologist, Alessandro Masnaghetti, the heat summation data resembled that of 2003 and 2017, two of the hottest recent vintages. But 2020 was different. It was not dry. In fact, there was plenty of rain and humidity throughout most of the growing season. As a result, some parts of Barolo suffered from downy mildew in the spring, which adversely affected the quality of the tannins. Then at harvest time there was heavy rainfall on October 2–3. Whether a producer picked before or after the rain had a big impact on the ripeness of the tannins; picking too early meant tannins remained unripe. The heat, and the frequency of rain, meant that the


TOP WINES


Luigi Einaudi Barolo Monvigliero 96 GD Vajra Barolo Bricco delle Viole 96 Paolo Scavino Barolo Monvigliero 95 Ca’Rome’ Barolo Rapet 94 Gagliasso Barolo Rocche dell’Annunziata 94 Casa E di Mirafiore Barolo Lazzarito 94 E Pira e Figli Chiara Boschis Barolo Mosconi 94


Rocche Costamagna Barolo Rocche dell’Annunziata 94 GD Vajra Barolo Ravera 94 Castello di Verduno Barolo 93


Cavallotto Barolo Bricco Boschis 92 Fontanafredda Barolo 92 Fontanafredda Barolo Lazzarito La Delizia 92 Silvio Grasso Barolo Bricco Luciani 92 Manzone Barolo Gramolere 92 Marengo Barolo Brunate 92 Massolino Barolo Margheria 92 Arnaldo Rivera Rocche di Castiglione Barolo 92 Luciano Sandrone Barolo Aleste 92 Paolo Scavino Barolo Bric del Fiasc 92


average berry size was bigger than normal, which led to some dilution. Even more than usual, the individual producer’s decisions of how to limit yield and when to pick made all the difference. 2020 is a vintage for drinking over the


short to medium term. It has produced mid- weight wines that will be approachable young but that in many cases lack the capacity for long aging. It is a rather patchy vintage, with different quality levels and styles—sometimes even from the same producer. Of the 55 wines tasted, many were excellent, with a vibrant quality, while others were a little lean, with green, less ripe flavors. 2020 is a vintage where you have to pick and choose carefully, but there are plenty of joyful wines to be found.


tinned strawberry, rose petal, vanilla pod, dark chocolate, and a long finish that relies equally on structure and ripe fruit. The finish shows persistence, elegance, finesse, and the drive that only a core of perfectly resolved fruit can deliver. 2027–39. | 97


Fontanafredda Barolo La Delizia Lazzarito Serralunga d’Alba 2020 (15% ABV)


| 94


SH | Bright ruby color. A lively nose, with dark licorice and mint notes. Juicy, savory, bright and breezy, not at all heavy on the palate, but perhaps lacking some depth and mid-palate development. 2025–35. | 92 AJ | Very pale and light—one of our palest today. Fragrant, graceful, and refined, and our antennae begin to wave. Lovely cherry fruit with fresh-cut hay. Single-note but serene and haunting. With time in the glass, the fruit shrinks a little and the secondary notes assume the upper note—not necessarily a good sign, as it suggests that the fruit doesn’t have a lot of sticking power. On the palate, our spirits rise again: this is a concentrated, even dramatic wine, with encouraging complexity, too. Fine drive and surge, and the core of currant-and-pomegranate fruit is sustained and long. I still don’t think that this will make old bones but it is an excellent Barolo in its vintage. 2025–35. | 92


MP | Beautiful nose, showing red cherry, cough syrup, cranberry, black cherry, wild rose, and plum, interlaced with ginger, hay, and licorice. The palate shows layers of velvety tannins, with refreshing acidity and a wealth of aromatic complexity combining to drive the finish. The length is superb and looks to the subtle floral and fruity notes, combined with Nebbiolo’s signature structure, to craft a truly impressive glass of wine that lingers on the palate for 45 seconds or more. This is an impressive Barolo with a bright future. 2030–40. | 98


Ca’Rome’ Barolo Rapet Serralunga d’Alba 2020 (15% ABV)


| 94


SH | Lightly perfumed, fragrant nose, then very dense, compact tannins, but of a silty, fine-sand- like texture. A clean, bright, well-made and firmly structured wine, which is not revealing much at present. I like the ambition and drive of this wine and the attention to detail. Lots of just-ripe, cool, cherry and green balsamic flavors. Tight, austere, and uncompromising but masterly in its own way. 2026–36. | 94 AJ | Pale; a delicate garnet red shading to brick at the meniscus. Very attractive and secondary now, with the primary fruit aromas melting into something warmer and more savory: warm twigs, humus, wet clay. Some dried herb here, too. On the palate, this is fresh, clean, clear, and limpidly expressed, with a concentrated fruit core, ample, softly extracted tannins, and some nascent secondary complexities. A darting, lively finish, and the ripeness is very well-judged. Beautiful wine, on the lines suggested by the aroma: a very happy blend of fresh primary fruit and secondary, savory complexities. 2025–37. | 93 MP | Discreet and intriguing nose, with layers of complex red and black fruit, showing black cherry, plum, cranberry, strawberry, licorice, and notes of sandalwood and cedar. The palate contributes elegant, structured tannins and refreshing acidity that serve to highlight the fruit and bring out the best in this elegant, balanced, and perfumed red. Enjoy this for its perfect balance or cellar for a few years during which time the aromatics will develop. 2028–35. | 95


Castello di Verduno Barolo Verduno 2020 (14% ABV)


| 94


SH | A sweet top note hits you first when sniffing this wine, then the subtle use of oak contributes


A BEAUTIFULLY ELEGANT NOSE, WITH STRAWBERRY, ROSE PETAL, VANILLA POD, DARK CHOCOLATE, AND A LONG FINISH THAT RELIES EQUALLY ON STRUCTURE AND RIPE FRUIT


198 | THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 87 | 2025


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