Susan Hulme MW SH | Andrew JeffordAJ | Michael Palij MW MP
A CHARMING NOSE THAT COMBINES RIPE RED AND BLACK FRUIT. THE PALATE EXUDES A SIMILAR CONFIDENCE, WITH TEXTBOOK HIGH ACIDITY, FIRM TANNINS, AND HIGH ALCOHOL
the vine. The concentration is sound here, and the tannins are present but not obtrusive: a thoroughly enjoyable wine, and with a little more concentration and finesse, it would have scored in the 90s. 2025–32. | 89 MP | Very obvious, with bright cherry fruit supported by strawberry and raspberry jam. There are some additional notes of baking spice, black cherry, and cooked plum. On the palate, this has surprisingly soft acidity and gentle, slightly cooked red and black fruit that prop up the tannins on a moderate finish. It’s a gentle, delicate, and thoroughly enjoyable introduction to Barolo, and one that will provide delicious early drinking. 2025–30. | 93
Azienda Agricola E Pira e Figli Chiara Boschis Barolo Cannubi Barolo 2020 (14.5% ABV)
| 92
SH | Softly fragrant nose, but diffuse, not focused or precise, if nevertheless pleasant, with a hint of brown-sugar ripeness, together with sultana and other dried-fruit aromas. The palate is leaner, more angular and livelier, because of the acidity, with crunchy, green-cherry flavors but a little lightweight and simple overall. 2025–33. | 89 AJ | Translucent garnet-red. Warm, sweet, and rounded: serene and pleasing, though without a great deal of aromatic detail. Bright and lively, with adequate concentration and moderate complexity. Very clean, fresh, fair, and frank: a lively mouthful of the real deal. Not for long storage but will bring plenty of pleasure over the next decade, and very true to the vintage. 2025–35. | 90 MP | A charming nose that combines ripe red and black fruit in a textbook show of Nebbiolo strength, with hawthorn, red cherry, strawberry, cranberry, black plum, and black cherry, with licorice, black pepper, hay, and ginger. The palate exudes a similar confidence, with a textbook blend of high acidity, firm tannins, and high alcohol. The finish is driven by the fruit and the structure in equal measure, with a gorgeous confluence of the two suggesting decent potential in the cellar. This has complexity and structure without undue reliance on oak—and it’s all the better for it. 2028–38. | 97
Paolo Scavino Barolo Monvigliero Verduno 2020 (14.5% ABV)
| 92
SH | A bright ruby color. Super-clean and controlled, with subtle cream, vanilla, and spice on the nose, together with precise, just-ripe,
MICHAEL PALIJ MW’S VERDICT
As one grower wryly remarked to me by phone in late-2020, “The vines did not get Covid.” Coming after 2019, a vintage of unreservedly classic proportions, it’s tempting to dismiss 2020 as too wet, or too hot, or too late (and, let’s be honest, if we skip 2020, we can get our mitts on the 2021s). But what a mistake it would be to dismiss 2020—there is much to like about this utterly alluring, perfumed vintage. No, neither tannins nor acidity are dialled up to 11, but the aromatics more than make up for this, and great Nebbiolo’s sine qua non is surely perfume. Success in this vintage required growers to be attentive in August when temperatures dipped, and to hold their nerve in September when rain temporarily darkened the skies. It’s clear that many producers lavished the necessary time and attention, perhaps hardly surprising, given that the rest of the country was in lockdown. The top examples from 2020 make for
TOP WINES
Luigi Baudana (GD Vajra) Barolo Cerretta 98 Luigi Einaudi Barolo Cannubi 98 Fontanafredda Barolo Lazzarito La Delizia 98 Mauro Marengo Barolo Ravera 98 Cabutto Tenuta La Volta Barolo 97 Luigi Einaudi Barolo Monvigliero 97 Fontanafredda Barolo97 Gagliasso Barolo Torriglione 97 Cantina Massara (Burlotto) Barolo Massara 97 E Pira e Figli Chiara Boschis Barolo Cannubi 97 Rivetto Barolo Briccolina 97 Luciano Sandrone Barolo Aleste 97
cherry fruit. It is firm and assertive on the palate, with a touch of greenness to the fruit, which is more a reflection of some aspects of the 2020 vintage. A taut, precise, energetic wine, and a more linear view of Verduno, which I like a lot. 2027–37. | 95 AJ | The deepest hued of our four Veduno wines, by a short measure, though translucent at the core. This is a wine with the tarry cast that often seems to show up in this vintage, though there are also rounded, curranty fruits. The sweetness is almost violetty, which is nice. Characterful but finally subtle, with a sense of the Verduno urgency and poise to it (despite the depth of color). Sound, well-drawn wine, though finally, if anything, a little less complex than I thought it might be from the aromas. The concentration is good, however, the lineaments are firm, and this is a wine that will give more in half a decade than now (though it is already perfectly accessible). 2027–35. | 90 MP | A curious nose, with a vegetal note of boiled cabbage and cooked black fruit. Notes of clove, ink, licorice, and cooked cherry all vie for attention, but the backdrop of aggressive tannins
Luigi Baudana (GD Vajra) Barolo Baudana 96 Ceretto Barolo Brunate 96 Bruna Grimaldi Barolo Badarina 96 Casa E di Mirafiore Barolo Paiagallo 96 Ca’Rome’ (Romano Marengo) Barolo Rapet 95 Gagliasso Barolo Rocche dell’Annunziata 95 Marengo Barolo Brunate 95 Luciano Sandrone Barolo Le Vigne 95 Castello di Verduno Barolo 95 Cavallotto Barolo Bricco Boschis 94 Ciabòt Berton (Marco Oberto) Barolo Roggeri 94 Diego Conterno Barolo 94
and meager fruit does little to instill confidence in this wine’s ability to develop. 2025–28. | 90
Casa E di Mirafiore Barolo Paiagallo Barolo 2020 (15% ABV)
| 92
SH | Deeply colored wine with a youthful ruby tone. On the nose, heady polish and tar, with dried-flower notes but muted and sotto voce overall. On the palate, it is juicy, firm, and robust in style but with vibrant acidity. 2025–35. | 88 AJ | Mid to deep in the context of this tasting, but limpid and translucent: a looker. Affably inviting aromas, too, with plenty of wealth and warmth, and clearly outstanding fruit driving and building those aromas: exuberant and full. Not much beyond the fruit, but this is some of the best fruit we have smelled in the tasting so far. That’s borne out on the palate: a big flood of accessible fruit and poised ripeness. The concentration is better than for many, yet the style is very open and accessible. This isn’t a layered wine, but it is a lovely one, and it will bring huge drinking pleasure. The vintage warmth is very well-realized here, with the fruit
THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 87 | 2025 | 201
downright gorgeous, short- to medium-term drinking. This is not damning with faint praise— these are just lip-smackingly delicious examples of the world’s most exasperating grape. Is 2020 as good as 2010, 2016, or 2019? Comparison is the enemy of joy. 2020 is a profound vintage, with aromatic nooks and crannies that none of those other vintages can boast. No doubt the tannins are less ferocious, but is that really a bad thing when discussing Nebbiolo? In terms of the communes, the Serravallian soils of Serralunga carried the day, although Verduno (across the valley) seems to be earning its stripes, and the free-draining sandy soils of Cannubi also turned in a couple of star performers. As always, the terroir can only do so much if the winemaker is asleep at the wheel, but the Covid vintage seems to have fashioned a great many immediately enjoyable, aromatically crystalline wines of great complexity.
LAYING DOWN: 2020 BAROLO
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