Susan Hulme MW SH | Andrew JeffordAJ | Michael Palij MW MP
fruits. Open, somewhat dilute, but attractive drinking, as well-crafted Barolo has to be. This won’t ever be anyone’s dream Barolo, and the reputation of this name might mean that this wine disappoints a little, despite its clean, ready affability. 2025–30. | 85 MP | Simple nose with blackberry, cooked plum, black cherry, cedar, vanilla, and coffee. The palate has more weight, but this is derived primarily from tannins, which are obvious and grippy. The finish looks to cooked black fruit, with some dried rose and licorice. A pleasant wine for early consumption but lacking complexity. 2026–30. | 91
Aurelio Settimo Barolo Rocche Dell’Annunziata La Morra 2020 (15% ABV)
| 88
SH | This wine is medium deep, quite dense colored garnet ruby. A gentle nose of wild flowers, cherries macerated in alcohol, hay and dried-grass notes, not a precise nose but multi-layered and hedonistic. There is something autumnal, too, like the last days of summer as it fades into autumn. Gravelly textured tannins, juicy acidity but a little disjointed on the palate, lacking some depth and intensity of fruit in the middle. 2025–32. | 90 AJ | Deep black-red: a dark-hued though limpid wine. Generous if slightly soupy fruits, with lots of plum and black cherry; a touch of vanilla. Ample depth and generosity, but I’m not wild about the style: rather more vanilla than I’d like, and the fruits are a little sharp-elbowed, with rustic tannins and some bitter finishing notes. 2025–30. | 84 MP | The dark color and cooked character on the nose indicate a fully ripe style, with cooked plum, black cherry, vanilla, creosote, Marmite, cedar, incense, and licorice. This has a very long finish, driven by the block-buster style of the fruit and dusty tannins. There is a lick of acidity to keep things on the boil but it is a clunky, lumbering style of Barolo that struggles to communicate the aromatic complexity of La Morra. 2025–30. | 91
Damilano Barolo Cannubi Barolo 2020 (14.5% ABV)
| 88
SH | Sweetly floral notes, but dried flowers, slightly faded aromas of pretty violet and freesia. Charming in terms of bright acidity giving a mouth-watering feeling and fine-textured tannins, but the ripeness and quality of the fruit in the middle is lacking, giving a lean quality to the fruit overall. 2024–29. | 88 AJ | Clear, bright, and inviting: a translucent garnet red. Lots of warmth here (and for a warm to hot year, it is surprising how rarely one smells this note in the wines), and with some dry grass and camphor notes. There is a pulse of curranty fruit beneath, and the overall effect is attractive and balanced, though perhaps not ultra-classical for a four-year-old. Vivid and lively, moderately concentrated, but with ample fruit to enjoy. This will see out a decade without difficulty, though this is not a wine about which anyone will ever write reams. Straightforwardly enjoyable. 2026–33. | 88 MP | Cool, vegetal characteristics, including dill,
PRINCIPALLY FRUITY: RED CURRANT AND POMEGRANATE. JUST A TOUCH OF TAR BEHIND. SOUNDLY CLASSICAL. LIMPID, FORTHRIGHT, SCRUTABLE: POISED RIPENESS AND FAIR LENGTH
mint, hay, and silage. The palate suffers in this flight, and although this wine has no obvious faults, it is just very seriously out-classed. 2026–30. | 89
Vietti Barolo Lazzarito Serralunga d’Alba 2020 (14.5% ABV)
| 88
SH | A light nose, with some sweet cherry fruit. It is simple but appealing, if a little one- dimensional. Round, juicy, with quite robust tannins, which are a little firm and chunky in style. Lacks some depth and range of aromas and flavors. 2025–34. | 88 AJ | Bright, clear garnet-red. Very primary fruit notes—red cherry; with sweetness from cinnamon, cola. Striking; in some ways attractive; those sweetnesses are not overdone. Soft and relatively simple on the palate, though. Too much rain! A nice quaff but Barolo should be more than a quaffing wine. 2025–28. | 84 MP | The nose suggests contact with some new oak, with obvious woody notes of spice, vanilla, caramel, and coconut. Beneath that, there is a layer of red and black fruit including tinned strawberry, raspberry, and cherry. In the mouth, the wine shows decent concentration of fruit allied to supple tannins and bracing acidity. It lacks ultimate complexity and the finish is moderate. 2028–35. | 93
Ettore Germano Barolo Prapo Serralunga d’Alba 2020 (14% ABV) | 87
SH | A little heavy with sweet oak and toast aromas, a little broad on the palate and simple, lacking some cohesion and harmony. Slightly sweet fruit and jammy notes, but the tannins feel a little brutal and green. 2025–32. | 87 AJ | Very light, crystalline, and translucent, barely deeper than rose-red. Warm, clean, delicately fruited: light red currant and pomegranate, with an infusion of thyme. It grows a little grassier and stringier with time in the glass, though, rather than amplifying the fruit core: perhaps a worrying sign. Intense and vivid and drivingly acidic, without the palate wealth and resonance to carry the acidity. A slender wine, finally, which I don’t see improving much in the future. (Odd at 14% ABV...) 2025–31. | 84 MP | Very obvious nose, showcasing vegetal notes of cooked veg, licorice, and cooked black fruit, including cherry and plum. The palate has some spicy complexity but the vegetal notes from this difficult vintage seem to occlude the
fruit. There’s a fine layer of tannins and bright acidity but this lacks concentration on the finish. 2027–32. | 91
Damilano Barolo Lecinquevigne 2020 (14.5% ABV)
| 87
SH | Medium-deep garnet color, already showing some evolution. The nose is fairly quiet and subdued, with some dried cherry wrapped in a little creamy spice and a little note of rose petal now and then. This wine is light in terms of fruit concentration on the palate, with an almost dried cranberry flavor. Lacks a little joyful fruit in the middle, so the tannins feel a bit drying on the finish, but acidity contributes a fresh finish. 2024–26. | 84 AJ | Light, translucent garnet-red; one of the lighter wines in the flight of blends. Principally fruity at this stage: red currant and pomegranate. Just a touch of tar behind. Soundly classical. Limpid, forthright, scrutable: firm fruit dominates here. Poised ripeness and fair length. Sound drinking. 2025–31. | 87 MP | Pronounced and gamey nose, with notes of blackberry, bramble, black cherry, cooked fruit, mineral notes, vanilla, cedar, licorice, and toffee apple. Very obvious and fat, with a chunky, four-square finish that is slightly hot and baked. 2027–32. | 90
Borgogno Barolo Liste Barolo 2020 (15% ABV)
| 86
SH | Bright garnet-ruby core. A muted nose, with some warmth and sweet spice but not much range of aromas. A little drying on the palate and lacking some generosity of fruit. Plenty of tannins and acidity but lacks some joy in the middle. 2025–32. | 84 AJ | Bright garnet-red. Gently smoky fruits here, open and scrutable. A touch of phenol. Exactly as the nose suggested: straightforward, even simple Barolo of uncomplicated pleasure. 2025–32. | 86 MP | Interesting nose led by vegetal notes of bay, cabbage, and forest floor. The palate is dominated by green notes and lacks the complexity and heft necessary to merit a higher score. Simple and disappointingly short. 2025–28. | 88
Ettore Germano Barolo Cerretta Serralunga d’Alba 2020 (14% ABV)
| 81
SH | Odd nose; quite perfumed but constrained by some oak, not allowing the real character of Nebbiolo to come out. Curtailed and shortened palate; overly drying, with an extracted feel. 2024–24. | 79 AJ | Light, translucent, and graceful garnet-red. Earthy; a touch murky. Reductive, or ... ? Bottle 2: For me, a better bottle: less aggressively murky, with slightly sweeter fruits. Disappointing on the palate, though: dilute and rough. Unclean, moreover. 2025–25. | 78 MP | Obvious VA on the nose, with a bold hit of camphor, vinegar, and cooked black fruit. Difficult to see this improving. 2025–29. | 85
THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 87 | 2025 | 207
LAYING DOWN: 2020 BAROLO
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