tasting / laying down / 2020 Barolo
it lacks some joy. 2024–30. | 88 AJ | Also a relatively dark wine for this commune: translucent at the core, however. Oddly forceful fruits for Verduno, a commune I associate with graceful restraint. A little stewy and buzzy: muddled plum, currant, and rhubarb. Exuberant and characterful, though, and some may like it. As on the nose, this seems rather raw and coarse, with abrupt tannins and slightly spiky fruits. Perhaps that is what the vintage delivered. As for almost all our wines today, it is perfectly drinkable and will serve valiantly at table for most of a decade, but for me, not a Verduno of record. 2025–33. | 86 MP | Show-stopping nose of red currant, red apple, cherry, blackberry, rose petal, crushed strawberry, and raspberry compote, all combining to deliver a massive hit of pleasure for Nebbiolo lovers. The palate matches the complex fruit to elegant and dusty tannins, combined with fresh acidity and spicy notes of clove, cinnamon, incense, and allspice. The finish stretches on for a full 45 seconds with red and black fruit mingling with floral and spicy highlights. Delicious. 2028–40. | 97
Ca’Rome Barolo Cerretta Serralunga d’Alba 2020 (15% ABV)
| 92
SH | Bright-toned garnet-ruby. The nose is a little limited at first but opens up on standing to notes of red rose petal and sweet strawberry notes. On the palate, it is juicy and bright, with acidity and plenty of savory, silty tannins but a little lean in the middle. This wine is lacking fruit in the middle, making it feel a little pinched, but it has some lovely aromas and the tannins are well managed. 2025–35. | 90 AJ | Clear, bright garnet-red; translucent and glowing. Warm, fresh, and enticing: very attractively defined fruit, with a rosy autumnal glow and bakery warmth to them. There is some nascent secondary complexity here, too: dry herbs and dried wild flowers. One of the most attractive aromas in the tasting. On the palate, the wine is exuberant, slightly rough and ready, enjoyable but perhaps not as pure or exciting as I had hoped from the aromas. Sound in the vintage context nonetheless, and there is plenty to enjoy here. 2026–33. | 88 MP | Discreet, elegant, subtle nose, showing cooked red fruit, strawberry, raspberry, plum, black cherry, and vanilla. The tannins from obvious oak-maturation mask much of the more delicate aromatic characteristics and the finish is dominated by the very high alcohol. For those looking for a huge hit of obvious Nebbiolo fruit, there is much to enjoy. 2025–32. | 93
Ettore Germano Barolo del Comune di Serralunga d’Alba 2020 (14% ABV)
| 90
SH | A more evolved style of wine in terms of the nose. Faded rose-petal and muted bitter- cherry aromas combine with dried flowers on the palate, but there is juicy, vibrant acidity really holding this wine together. There is a little bite and firm tannic grip on the finish, but not so much density and concentration of flavor. 2025–32. | 89
204 | THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 87 | 2025
ROUND, SOFT, VELVET- TEXTURED, AND CHARMING. THE TANNINS AND ACIDITY ARE BEAUTIFULLY INTEGRATED INTO THE BODY OF THE WINE, WHILE NOTHING STANDS OUT
AJ | Dark and resonantly colored, with impressive garnet-scarlet depths, though fully translucent. Lots of licorice, clay, and dry root spice here, with autumn leaf, moss, and a fenugreek note. The fruit, by contrast, is just a little bit submissive, but the overall effect is forthcoming and has great charm. Nothing vulgar, no false notes, and we are well beyond simple fruit here. A super nose. On the palate, the fruit is a touch drier and more sinewy than for the very best wines, but this is crafted with great skill and will provide fresh yet satisfying drinking over the short to medium term. 2025–38. | 91 MP | Developed and obvious, with notes of forest floor, cooked black fruit, bay, sage, mushroom, and griottes. The length is driven by very obvious alcohol and overt black fruit, suggesting that this was picked when very ripe. This is a very fruity and obvious Barolo that lacks subtlety. 2026–31. | 91
Gagliasso Barolo Torriglione La Morra 2020 (14.5% ABV)
| 90
SH | Good color intensity, faded ruby. The nose is rather flat and subdued, with some notes of background spice, cream, smoke, polish, black cherry. There is a slightly raw and underripe quality to the fruit, with some crunchy green notes, and the tannins feel quite drying. 2025–29. | 84 AJ | Clear, deep garnet-red; translucent at the core. Fine, fresh fruit here, with a purity and classiness not always evident elsewhere. The delivery is simple and straightforward: no sign of any layering yet, but that quality of fruit bodes well for the future. The palate delivers on the promise: aquiline, clean, impeccably defined fruit all the way through the palate, fresh and accessible. There isn’t either complexity or concentration, but this is still a lovely mouthful of Barolo for the short to medium term. 2025–33. | 89 MP | Pronounced, complex, and highly detailed nose, with a panoply of aromatic silos including red currant, strawberry, cranberry, black plum, Morello cherry, ginger, red apple, cedar, mushroom, and tobacco. The palate has zingy acidity and warming alcohol but these only serve to showcase the red and black fruit joined by incense, clove, marmite, and wild rose. Taken together, the structure and fruit drive an exceptional finish, with almost a minute of aftertaste. This is a lithe and haunting example of the vintage. 2028–38. | 97
Azienda Agricola E Pira e Figli Chiara Boschis Barolo Via Nuova 2020 (14.5% ABV)
| 90
SH | Medium-deep, garnet-toned, dull ruby. Simple, light, red-cherry aromas, some touches of cream and spice in the background. Round, smooth, medium-full on the palate, with an appealing freshness on the finish, and rounded, gentle-textured tannins. Some attractive black- and red-cherry fruit, if a rather short finish. Attractive and enjoyable. 2024–29. | 88 AJ | Translucent scarlet. Warm, graceful, and refined aromas of redcurrant and cut hay. Very harmonious for the four-year spot. Ample aromatic articulacy and indeed a sense of more to give. Intense, gathered, and indeed almost driving on the palate, with firm tannins and a more austere fruit style than I expected. The concentration is impressive and there are lovely afterbreath aromatics, too. Acids and tannins form quite a front here, though, and that is my only reservation about what seems otherwise an impressive wine. It comes over as a little craggy and unyielding. 2025–33. | 88 MP | Pretty nose, with red currant, pomegranate, red apple, and black pepper, with ink and toast. The palate shows dog rose, honeysuckle, and empyreumatic notes, including char and coffee. The finish has decent weight and unwinds with purpose but it is missing that extra gear and touch of finesse, with surprisingly high acidity, given the vintage. 2027–32. | 93
Silvio Grasso Barolo Bricco Luciani La Morra 2020 (15% ABV)
| 90
SH | This wine starts off with lots of sweet, ripe, red- and black-cherry aromas, and a very dense, perfumed, freesia-like quality, with sweet violet notes yet spicy, too. On the palate, it is round, soft, velvet-textured, and charming. The tannins and acidity are beautifully integrated into the body of the wine, while nothing stands out. Perhaps lacking some energy and precision, but a gentle, charming, and approachable wine that will please a lot of people. 2024–34. | 92 AJ | Pale, garnet-red; translucent. This has rather obvious, evident aromas, almost as if its fruits (cherry and currant) were tinned rather than fresh; a sweet hay note, too. It’s exuberant and characterful, though, so some may enjoy the aromatic profile. The palate is as the aromatics suggested. Drinkable, though for me lacks some finesse and classicism. 2025–31. | 85 MP | Pronounced nose with cooked cherry, black plum, woodsmoke, game, and cooked black plum. The palate shows a similar level of very obvious cooked black fruit, supported by high alcohol and chalky tannins, derived from wood maturation. This offers a big hit of immediate enjoyment but lacks subtlety and nuanced elegance. 2025–30. | 92
Cristian Boffa Barolo Capalot La Morra 2020 (14.5% ABV)
| 90
SH | Sweet, ripe, red-cherry and cream aromas are the top notes of this wine, with secondary aromas of smoke and flint. It is firmly structured on the palate but the fruit supporting this is a little green and unripe. A savory, food wine that
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