tasting / laying down / 2020 Barolo
creamy, sweet, oak-spice. On the palate, there is a very harmonious balance between bright acidity, gentle but firmly integrated tannins, and lively, red-cherry fruit. It is bright and gregarious in style. 2025–34. | 92 AJ | Clear, bright garnet-red. Soft, sweet, beguiling but complex. The fruit is rather quietly stated in this aroma, but in a way it almost mimics full maturity, in that it is absolutely part of a complete and serene whole. Subtle, graceful, and refined, with many teasing notes (lanolin and burrata for rich things, but wild flowers like violet and woodruff for the subtler and more fugitive notes), which make one long for a large glass and half an hour to spend with the wine. Impressive. On the palate, it is a little simpler than the aromas contrived to suggest: a lithe plunge into a pool of cool fruit, which, as it subsides, comes to seem sweet-edged and tender. Beautifully crafted, elegant, and graceful. There are others with slightly more life force and breath behind them, but few others to match the grace and restraint of this wine. A super effort. 2025–37. | 93
Luciano Sandrone Barolo Aleste Barolo 2020 (14.5% ABV)
| 92
SH | In terms of aromas, the top notes are floral and pretty in this wine. Juicy dark fruits dominate on the palate: vibrant and lively and enjoyable, but it lacks some finesse and ripeness. 2025–35. | 92 AJ | Dark black-red. Translucent, but the hue is plum-red rather than garnet. Rich, exotic, with tobacco leaf and Indian balsam. Lots of ample ripeness here, and for me enjoyable as such, though the fruits are less classical than for some of its peers. A creamy undertow, too, and almost blackberryish ripeness. Lush and ripe on the palate, with lots of rewarding sweetness. Fair concentration, without huge complexity. An exuberant, lush, and exciting reading of the vintage, very easy to drink and very enjoyable in simple sensual terms. It may not be quite what demanding classicists are looking for, though. 2025–34. | 88 MP | Attractive nose, with ripe red fruit, including strawberry, raspberry, red currant, plum, and cherry. The wine shows obvious oak maturation, with notes of clove, vanilla, and coconut, although these characteristics are beautifully integrated with the oak. The finish looks to high alcohol and obvious oak initially, although the aromatic complexity derived from the fruit starts to assert itself on the finish. There is no denying the power and intensity of this wine and it remains to be seen whether or not this will deliver on its obvious and early promise. 2030–40. | 97
Rivetto Barolo Briccolina Serralunga d’Alba 2020 (14.5% ABV)
| 92
SH | Lively color of bright ruby and a lively nose, with a fragrant, floral top note. Chunky, firm, drying tannins too severe for the level of fruit expressed on the mid palate. A little overly assertive, drying, and firm, without the joyful mid-palate expression of fruit. It is compact and tight, a little too dry on the finish, needing more layers and nuance in the middle. 2025–35. | 89
200 | THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 87 | 2025
BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED, ELEGANT, AND GRACEFUL. THERE ARE OTHERS WITH MORE LIFE FORCE AND BREATH BEHIND THEM, BUT FEW OTHERS TO MATCH ITS GRACE AND RESTRAINT
AJ | Bright, clear garnet-red with a fine inner glow to it. A little dry and leafy, but we are talking dry autumn leaves, not green spring leaves, and these scents meld with warm, bright currant and pomegranate fruits very tellingly. Graceful aromas. Not a roar of fruit, but the whole is very settled, harmonious, and inviting... though the aromas don’t quite hold well in the glass, and become a little vegetative after a while. On the palate, this is a graceful wine, gentle to drink, with a lovely, glowing fruit core and fine aromatics in the mouth. Tender, soft, and rewarding, though not quite in the top flight in terms of concentration and poise. 2025–37. | 91 MP | Richly aromatic, with notes of camphor, black cherry, licorice, tinned strawberry, mineral oil, incense, ink, and dried rose. The palate shows a supporting cast of tannin and acidity that showcase the complex red and black fruit. Concentration of cherry, plum, licorice, and incense drive an epic finish that relies also on the alcohol and acidity to best effect. The weight of fruit structure indicates that this will improve for many years. Classic and delicious Barolo. 2030–38. | 97
Fontanafredda Barolo Serralunga d’Alba 2020 (14.5% ABV)
| 92
SH | Sweet black-cherry and spice aromas, with fragrant violet and freesia, too. Nice acidity, firm but not harsh tannins, a little too oak- dominant, but this has plenty of fruit, too. I like the juicy, vibrant finish, with refreshing acidity. 2026–34. | 92 AJ | Graceful, bright, translucent light red. To begin with, a slight touch of reduction, but this soon clears to leave sweetly refined aromas of graceful elegance. Deft pomegranate, red currant, and cranberry fruits, with a creamy backdrop; dried-flower and wild-mushroom notes complete the backdrop. Unusual complexity here from a vintage where many growers struggled to express anything beyond simple purity of fruit. The palate isn’t quite as complex (or as concentrated) as the nose suggested it might be, but it is supremely well-balanced, very drinkable, and is built on a core of athletic red currant fruit. The aromatic complexities support the fruit well. Yet another assured effort from a Serralunga grower in this difficult vintage. 2025–38. | 92 MP | Delicate, filigree notes of red currant, red cherry, and cranberry work alongside forest floor, mushroom, and tobacco. The palate has
an enormous weight of tannin and it struggles to move out from under these to capture the fruit to its best advantage. The finish eventually surrenders to the tannins and alcohol and the fruit is subsumed. Consumers looking for impressive and obvious Barolo will enjoy this, although it is definitely one for the short-term. 2025–29. | 93
Marengo Barolo Brunate La Morra 2020 (14.5% ABV)
| 92
SH | Classic mid-ruby color, already with touches of garnet. On the nose, this wine is gentle, with aromas of sweet spice and cherries in alcohol; less incisive and precise in terms of aromatic definition, but with a warmth and charm like old memories of familiar places, notes of leather and lavender weaving back and forth. The palate is round, soft, quite full, defined and elongated by lovely fresh acidity and fine, grainy, gravelly textured tannins. 2024–34. | 92 AJ | This producer’s La Morra is significantly deeper hued than its Novello: deep oxblood, though translucent to the core. Warm, sweet-fruited, structured, and secondary: very autumnal and rosy-hued, with lots of hedgerow and plant complexity over robust, sun-warmed plum fruits; some licorice, too. Friendly, welcoming, and enticing aromas. Not total purity, however; a touch of cardboard apparent in the glass after a while. Vivid and quite concentrated for this tasting, and better bulk in the mouth than many, too. This is not necessarily a Barolo desideratum—but in 2020, when the repeated rains seem to have left many wines slightly dilute, it is welcome. The fruit quality is just a little sinewy, but this wine has a lot to offer overall and would work very well with food. 2025–34. | 89 MP | Gorgeous nose, with cooked red fruit including plum, cherry, apple, red currant, and wild strawberry, along with floral notes of rose and Parma violets. There’s a purity to this that encapsulates fine Barolo. The palate is similarly appealing, although the tannins are still formidable. The finish is engaging, showing a twist of black pepper and exotic spice to add to the red fruit and black cherry. This is a convincing example and will reward another 5-7 years in the cellar. 2028–36. | 95
Rocche Costamagna Barolo Rocche dell’Annunziata La Morra 2020 (14.5% ABV)
| 92
SH | This wine is a classic, bright, even ruby, not showing any evolution in color. The nose has a lovely purity and transparency about it; clear, just-ripe, crunchy red cherry, warm cream, and gentle vanilla spice, with fragrant wild-flower notes that come and go. Very bright, focused acidity gives a more linear structure to the soft, lush roundness that can often be typical of La Morra. I like this more edgy, precise style and the bright, uplifting finish. 2025–36. | 94 AJ | Limpid and translucent garnet-red. Vivid, fresh fruits: cherry and plum. Ample poise here, with a sense of creamy warmth beneath: a wine you’d like to roll in your glass. Pure, fresh, direct: as with so many 2020s, you almost have the sense that you are drinking straight from
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