Barolo 2018
So, the question was, what do I think of Barolo 2018?
If it was 1988 we would all be singing the modest praises of the vintage. Classic, understated, early approachability and well balanced, with ripe tannins. But it’s 2021 and we’ve been spoiled, not only by the unprecedented run of great vintages, but also by the remarkable technological advances found in both the vineyards and the cellars of Piemonte, and we are spared the opinions of people who tasted vintages like 1981 and 1983 on release. Well mostly.
In order to not be cryptic let me say up front that I think 2018 is quite a decent vintage. On the 100 point scale we use it’s probably about an 83 as a vintage, obviously with better wineries capable of exceeding the general limits of the vintage. It’s a vintage that will get worse before it gets better. By that I mean it is a sort of classic vintage, which will suffer through some closed, unbalanced years before finding it’s equilibrium.
The opposite of say 2014, where many wines were saved by pre-fermentation macerations, and abbreviated post fermentation macerations which resulted in wines fairly rich with fruit, but poor prognosis on the aging front. On the contrary, 2018 should be both early maturing as well as classically maturing. By that I mean the wines should, relatively quickly, develop both the textures and flavor profiles of classic Barolo, a feat the 2014s will struggle with it at best.
Credit must be given to the brave vintners here. They worked tirelessly in the vineyard through a vintage that featured tough going from start to finish: and then they made their wines. Almost if surrendering, they just made their wines. No tricks, no fiddling in the cellar. Presumably they have had so many great vintages that many were comfortably making Barolo as it had once been made. Normal little vintage, useful they might be called, but honest interpretations of terroir. One of the most common identifiers is the pale color of so many of the wines. This is due no doubt to both the relatively large clusters the early rains and warm summer stimulated, as well as the late rains in early September that helped swell the fruit, though the previous year’s drought helped to create conditions in the soil that were conducive to high levels of precipitates, which stripped some substance of the wines as they fell clean.
So that’s what the 2018s are like. Elegant, fine, many delicious, a few underwhelming, but honest, and if they had been produced in 1984 there would have been much rejoicing! But they weren’t, so we lament, or we extoll. It all depends which side of the argument you’ve chosen to make your name. Look, this is not a great vintage, and very few truly compelling wines were produced so you should disabuse yourself of the ideas put forth by writers wanting to either ingratiate themselves with the producers, or stand in stark contrast to the naysayers, who in fact jumped the gun, forgot what Barolo actually tasted like not too long ago, or just luxuriate in the attention their self-made controversies create.
Having said all that I will say some super wines were produced. The smaller producers really surprised here, and some of the bigger producers stumbled the hardest. Gianni Canonica produced wines that are great wines. Not great 2018s, just great wines. Claudio Boggione did the same. These are tiny producers, who do it all themselves, and with the issues presented in 2018, that seems to have been a distinct advantage. Stefano Oreste is another that comes to mind.
Just to recap, 2018 Barolo is pale, fragrant, early maturing in most cases, fresh, and potentially delicious without being too difficult.
I did not taste that many producers this year. Between COVID, and an ill timed visit to Piedmont, and a set of samples lost in transit my selection remains ample, but reduced. Nonetheless, I am confident that what I have tasted is both representative of the vintage, as well as sufficient to generalize as I have; and for no other reason than I have them typed I I present my notes to you below. I will start with a list of top scoring wines followed by wines grouped by producer, as I often fall into the lazy habit of referencing one wine to another in the same producer’s portfolio. In order of my scheduled visits.
95pts
2018 Giovanni Canonica Paiagallo
2018 Oddero Barolo Brunate
94pts
2018 Claudio Boggione Brunate
2018 Elvio Cogno Barolo Ravera
2018 Brovia Barolo Ca’Mia Brea
2018 GD Vajra Barolo Bricco delle Viole
2018 Fratelli Alessandria Monvigliero
93pts
2018 Ferdinando Principiano Barolo Ravera
2018 G Conterno Barolo Cerretta
2018 G Conterno Barolo Francia
2018 Ernesto Molino Barolo Bricco Rocca
2018 Burzi Barolo
2018 Barolo Barale Castellero
2018 Brovia Barolo Garblet Sue
2018 Oddero Barolo Vigna Rionda
2018 G Porro Barolo Santa Caterina
2018 G Porro Barolo Vigna Rionda
2018 GD Vajra Barolo Ravera
Wines tasted by producer in order of scheduled visits.
Giuseppe Rinaldi
2018 G Rinaldi Tre Tine
Slightly vegetal on the nose, though it does offer up plenty of sweet. Burgundian styled fruit along with Sweet spice notes and perfumes of pressed flowers. Spicy and a touch lean on entry. Lean, delicate, and small scaled across the palate. The tannins are a little hard, though the tobacco, spearmint, and sour cherry flavors do a fine job of covering them through the long, earthy finish. Perhaps a touch soft. 91pts
2018 G Rinaldi Brunate
More licorice scented and certainly spicier on the nose with darker fruit, leathery fruit. This is lean but has a core of sweetness in the mouth. It’s a nuanced and very pleasant version of Brunate, a mini-Brunate if you will. Tannins are all powdered and soft. Everything important floats above the palate. Delicate and refined. 91pts
Ferdinando Principiano
2018 F Principiano Barolo del Commune Serralunga 14%
Bronzy delicate, with a red core in the glass. Wow, this is fragrant and sweet, woodsy with a frutti del bosco sweetness along with bay laurel and cool spearmint framing notes. Has this thin veneer of fruit sweetness early on the palate which it actually holds on through the palate, yet displays terrific transparency across the mid palate. Medicinal notes add to the aromatic profile. So taut and nuanced across the palate with these fine grained, tiny austere noble tannins.Seriously austere on the finish but nothing a few years wouldn’t remedy. This is raw and stern, And yet it has finesse, and incipient elegance. Barolo 1981. 91pts
2018 F Principiano Barolo Ravera 14%
Gorgeous on the nose and rich with deep, musky, dark berried fruit. Smells of Nebbiolo with hints of dried citron peel and floral notes. This has some weight to it, power and depth on the mid pate, good length. Nice acid lift lends freshness to the slow to emerge floral nd spice notes on the palate. A bit minty, and then a touch plummy. Easy to approach already, will live nicely on it’s wonderful balance, Complete wine, and not smaller scaled, but with less resonance perhaps. The perfumes in the empty glass are gorgeous. 93pts
Cascina Fontana
2018 Cascina Fontana Barolo
Has a curious .nose, truffle and savory, then showing off lots of jammy black fruit. It’s both evolved, and youthful and fresh, very 2018. Lots of fruit on entry, red fruit, sour cherry, Ranier cherry, with not inconsequential tannins and supporting acidity. It’s a little simple early on the palate but lovely with a graceful backend and finish that shows hints of reships, dusty earth, and tinges of tar and the truffle notes from the nose. Delicious, in the end fairly complex, well balanced Barolo. 90pts
Giacomo Conterno
2018 GIacomo Conterno Barolo Cerretta
Pale and transparent in the glass. Pretty, with a hint of vanilla to the nose, which is followed by red cherry fruit, mint, and clay aromas. Perfumed in a lean register. Pretty rich and powerful on the palate with a leading edge of fruit weight, then this turns taut and transparent with lovely resonance on the palate full of flavors of sour cherry and spicy earthy undertones. Quite aromatic, iron and spice and really earth driven. It’s a powerful wine, but the not inconsequential tannins are remarkably integrated. Should prove quite long lived. 93pts
2018 GIacomo Conterno Barolo Arione
Musky and earthy, and distinctly more vegetal on the nose than the Cerretta. Air reveals fruity plum accents, stone, tar, and a bit on the medicinal side of the spectrum. Richer and rounder in the mouth with more of a stony, chalky base. It is long, with more of a rosewood impact, quite savory, certainly intense and structured, but hard, with a stronger woodsy character. Shows more elegance and finesse than the Cerretta. 91pts
2018 G Conterno Cascina Francia
More complete, perhaps less intense but dark cherry fruit and earth, iron, offer terrific depth here. Bright, juicy, powerful and more complex than the prior wines. There’s gorgeous red fruit here, pure and tight, with good length supported by powdery tannins. You have to use your imagination here, almost a hint of sweetness to the fruit but with terrific cut, and nuance. aromatically a fine blend of the prior two wines. 93pts
Cantina Bartolo Mascarello
2018 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo 15%
So pretty on the nose with it’s layered presentation full of woodland notes, sticks, dry earth, rose petals, along with an early hint of sweetness, and burnished fruit. Juicy and savory in the mouth with a hint of incipient autumnal character. Rather delicate and, earthy, with the raspberry toned fruit emerging later on the palate. The alcohol is well hidden, good length, complete smaller wine. 91pts
Giovanni Canonica
2018 Giovanni Canonica Grinzane Cavour 15.5%
Bitter melon rind, floral, with a hint of soap to the nose and a latent nuttiness Pretty intense, nice fruit, fairly tannic though with tannins that are nicely ripe. Lacks a little length, rich and almost sandy tactile notions early on the palate, Deep fruit on the mid palate, nice finish shows off muddy earth and licorice tones. Nice complexity and balance on the palate profile. Lots of licorice emerging on the nose. This has a gentle delicacy to it, with a return of tannins on the lengthening finish 91pts
2018 Giovanni Canonica Paiagallo 15%
Oh wow, this has another gear to it, dark berry fruit, licorice, medicinal spice, herbal undertones. Wow this is richer, significantly fruity, with herbal and melon rind undertones, long, intense, deep wine. Packed with fine grained tannins, supple but not soft, there’s terrific depth here, slightly clay tinged soil notes, that hint of incipient nuttiness, a little orange rind emerging on the nose. A big success packed with fruit. 95pts
Claudio Boggione
2018 Claudio Boggione Brunate 14.5%
Tight but pure on the nose, and slightly reticent with slow to emerge perfumes of arugula, watermelon, dark cherry fruit, plum skins and rose petals. A very nice expression of Barolo fruit. This has power, rich tannins, exciting, bright, vivid, this is really well balanced, the fruit fades across the finish but this reveals great clay terroir on the long finish. Quite complex, faceted, sort of black fruited, very 1980s. This is very long with a sneaky floral and candied red cherry return on the final. Has a vague barrel wood induced spice note. Classic wine, hard raspberry candy fruit long on the finish hard, austere, This is better than you think it is. 94pts
Ernesto Molino
2018 Ernesto Molino Bricco Rocca
Tea and tobacco aromas greet the nose followed by chalky, soil tones and a grilled beef note that is accented by an herbal sweetness here, quite detailed. Fruity and softish on entry. There’s lots of good fruit, lean, classic, and salty on the palate with very complex soil and mineral notes laced through it. The finish reveals the delicate, noble tannins. This is subtle and complex, sneaky length, fine resonance of fruit on the finale, little round fruits, fairly elegant and already showing notable evolution. 93pts
Tenuta Montanello
2018 Tenuta Montanello Barolo Montanello 14.5%
Better nose, wood is present but sweeter and delicate, pool of cherry, gentle spice, hints of sweet herbs before the oak creeps in; elegant and refined. There’s lovely fruit here, delicate, wood tannins creep in a bit too much but of course this is young. This has some energy to it and real freshness of fruit, good length, there’s a fair amount going on here and it handles the oak better than the 17, but the alcohol shows through a bit. This is really quite good. Long finish great inner mouth perfumes and great finesse. 91pts
Elvio Cogno
2018 Elvio Cogno Barolo Cascina Nuova
Super pale color. Lovely nose, you can smell the stems here, cinnamon, and sweet spices, amarena cherries, with hints of tar, licorice, sweet gum and violets Rose petals emerge in the mouth on entry, a bit loose but it’s very aromatic in the mouth, bright, juicy and fresh. Tannins are well managed but a touch austere, this is so nuanced, delicate and just finely textured, a seductress of a wine, burnished red fruit on the finish yields to citrus notes and an edge of parchment. Shows its alcohol a touch, more important and more structured than many, with that fruit that emerges on the backend and through the finish, low, sweet, and dark cherry. Drink this over the next 6-8 years, 91pts
2018 Elvio Cogno Barolo Ravera 14.5%
40% whole cluster, 60% Lampia, 40% Michet
At pop n pour this is fairly autumnal already, lots of stewy cherry fruit, a bit stemmy, meaty, rose bud, quite complex, freshens up nicely. On entry one notices the real lift on the palate, decisive, cuts the palate, so fresh, delicate, and vertical with superbly fine tannins, and so pure with such an elegance; just a joy in the mouth. There’s a shimmering transparency here, that reveals the slightly herbal stemmy influence on the palate, so juicy, so drinkable up front but finishes with such depth and nuance and rocky freshness, long and lithe. One of the second best wines of the vintage; wow this is good and so fun to drink. 94pts
Barale
2018 Barale Barolo Commune
Floral, rich with the perfume of rose buds, red fruit, strawberry, talc, sandy, certainly showing good complexity. Delicate in the mouth, high toned, bright fresh and so fragrant. Love this, good depth, hint of rust, tannins are firm and dry, good freshening acidity. Decent length, could be longer, a bit minty on the finish. This is a lot of Barolo for the money. 91pts
2018 Barolo Barale Castellero
Very floral very red fruited on the nose with a little spice, a little jasmine, delicate but deep, Broad in the mouth, a little glycerine lends some roundness, great balsamic toned inner mouth perfumes. This is so classic, so perfumed in the mouth, showing good length and great freshness to the red cherry/raspberry fruit. Just all transparency and purity. Warm cherry fruit, a little frutti del bosco. Very emotional wine. 93pts
2018 Barolo Barale Monrobiolo
A hint of wood greets the nose, followed by deep, dark fruit, that shows less detail but more ripeness here than the other Barale Barolos this year. An altogether more luxurious wine, fruity, sweet tannins, more approachable but less complex and less emotional. A bit short, simple, a little cranberry accent but this does deliver plenty of ripe, friendly, red fruit in a open knit style. 88pts
Burzi
2018 Burzi Barolo
Lovely, burnished violet tinged fruit, greets the nose followed by great floral notes, gardenia, green herb, minty, resiny, medicinal herbs underpinned by a hint of toasty oak. Round on entry, ample, quite generous on the palate, pretty packed for the vintage, burnished cherry fruit, lovely austerity to the tannins, they pull the fruit over the finish. There is perhaps a touch of inkiness on the nose, certainly generous before the tannins kick in and with plenty of fruit, a lovely sense of freshness, orange blossom, also in the mouth. Needs a few years but lovely stuff. With real sneaky length. 93pts
Giulia Negri
2018 Giulia Negri Barolo La Tartuffaia
Slightly autumnal on the nose with small candied raspberry fruit accent notes, and some green tea. It’s all sweet raspberry tea on the palate, a bit angular, with a lovely, gentle richness with tannins that are just a touch crude, decent length, but this feels like peach tea in the mouth with those fuzzy tannins. It is fruity. 89pts
2018 Giulia Negri Barolo Serradinari
Stony, cool, with icy notes on the nose, layered under lots of rose petals and incense. Rounder in the mouth, with more purity of fruit, though a little less complex perhaps but with riper tannins, and all together more pleasing in the mouth. One finds lovely lift, fine tension here, and good length on the lovely, dusty finale, which shows powerful drive. Tannins are rich but ripe. 92pts
Brovia
2018 Brovia Barolo Classico
Beautiful, absolutely classic, cherries in alcohol, tobacco, a little high toned, a touch of white soil, lean but fresh and complete. Fresh and balsamic on entry, good moderate richness, lovely wine, fine and elegant, real complexity already on the palate, cherry fruit is balanced by balsamic and green herbal freshness. Clean, lean, ripe tannins strawberry fruit fans out across the moderately long finish. There’s a sense of delicacy here, it’s Barolo in a minor cord. A bit of a one two punch with the light fruit and balsamic contrast. Balance, firm, elegant and in a word: classic. 90pts
2018 Brovia Rocche del Castiglione
Pale color but bright red, with dried herbal, dried flowers, white soil, and small white cherry aromas on the gorgeous nose. So subtle and nuanced yet classic, light, fresh, pure so bright, super vertical in the mouth, exciting, long, zesty, so delicate and fine, with a kernel of sweetness to the red fruit at it’s core. All lace and finesse. It’s very subtle, compact but long, so delicate, becoming perfumed in the mouth, paradox wine, Voillot like, 92pts
2018 Brovia Villero
Also a little pale, very red color
Rich deep, quite fruity on the nose, a darker shade of fruit, quite precise clay aromas, nettles, that edge of green unripeness. Fairly rich, bright and juicy in the mouth, with a cranberry almost yellow fruit edge. Juicy a bit short, front loaded, nice powdery tannins, bright juicy more fun than the Rocche and in a similar style but less complex and aromatic. This lacks a hint of richness on the finish but is almost the equal of the rocche. Absolutely transparent and delicious. 91pts
2018 Brovia Barolo Garblet Sue
Here there’s a little more pink to the hue, as well as a pool of fruit, framed with dried herbs, red sweet fruit with some cranberry jelly notes and a hint of pomegranate, framed with gentle clay notes. Features lots of lean red fruit on entry, bright, juicy, fairly tannic for the vintage, wow this has huge followthrough, good length, juicy, a bit of an orange tone on the finish. The tannins are really well managed here, a bit more tannic perhaps than the prior wines, richer, a little more rustic a tiny bit of chew here, sneaky length. 93pts
2018 Brovia Barolo Ca’Mia Brea
Classic Brea nose, dark earth, black tea, almost a hint of carob, dark cherry, white flowers, incipient licorice. Rich, smooth, and velvety in the mouth, so velvety for a young Brea. Deep, slightly medicinal just packed with flavor, so well balanced, a touch short but this is lacking nothing, just a strikingly pure, transparent about 90% of the maximum expression of Brea, with such lovely tannins on the finish driving a pure, earth and fruit, almost plummy fruit laced finish. Needs more time than most 5 years a fine blend of elegance and power 94pts
Fratelli Oddero
2018 Oddero Barolo
A hint of fudge greets the nose followed by dark wild cherry fruit a nice extract of bay oily herbs, a hint of sage and chestnut. Perhaps lacking some definition in the mouth, it is rich and round, there’s power, fruit, and perfume here, with lovely soil driven depth, but it lacks a bit of a center. Yet it is so inviting and fresh red fruit with good length, lovely wine needs 2-3 years in bottle. 91pts
2018 Oddero Barolo Brunate
Deep, aromatic, with a lovely display of precise, herbal, dark earthy and sandalwood laced fruit. Lifted on the nose, elegant but also super suave and supple in the mouth, deep precise rich red fruit, tart sour berry fruit, with an incipient hint of truffle. Juicy and fine, almost lacy with firm yet well integrated tannins and juicy acids. A wine of the vintage. 95pts
2018 Oddero Barolo Vigna Rionda
This is also exhibiting great fruit and freshness on the nose, a hint of olive is followed by ripe red currant, then a bit of Christmas spice, a hint of oak as well, deeply laced in there. Tight, tight, tight, long, focused, fine tannins, elegant and finessed, this is silky, but in no way even near ready. Very ageable for the vintage, and probably will be excellent. 93pts
Massolino
2018 Massolino Barolo
This is good, tobacco, earth, very Serralunga and very approachable. A bit minty, and a bit sweetly medicinal. Offering cool menthol attributes on entry, then turning tense and dusty on the palate which show off long, huge rose petals, tobacco, and sweetly woodsy flavors in a smooth but still tannic package. Dark fruit flavors pair with a sense of delicacy here, leading to a rosehip and citrus flavored finish. A hint too soft perhaps, very Serralunga in a balsamic style, needs another 2-3 years. 89pts
Guido Porro
2018 Guido Porro Barolo Gianetto 14.5%
Sweet fruit, big sandalwood and incense aromas grace the nose along with Serralunga spice notes, fig, some plum in alcohol, late arriving cinnamon quinine spice lends complexity. Smooth, a bit loose as is the style of the vintage, but this has lots of fruit and spice with an incipient truffle note. I’s sweet on the medicinal end of the spectrum, long, a little chewy, quite classic, smells more complex and intense that it is on the palate but it’s lovely with good fruit and freshness and a more youthful character than many 2018s. Love the spicy nature here, mace, allspice, super complexity if savory quality on the finish. 92pts
2018 Guido Porro Barolo Santa Caterina 14.5%
More subtle, more floral, red roses, red berry fruit, pipe briar, ash, subtle and complex. In a more elegant, less effusive style than the Gianetto, less sweetly fruited and spicy, but this has subtlety and elegance, very fine, great balance the tannins are just slightly reined in, pure finesse, elegance, a hint of more licorice toned medicinal character, this is very good stuff, sweet fruit, red fruit tobacco. 93pts
2018 Guido Porro Barolo Lazzairasco
More tuffley, slightly pruny, figgy, complex, subtle and earthy on the nose, with a salumi umami note as well as hints of cinnamon and rust. Tighter, more muscle here, almost chewy, fine transparent red berry fruit,with a truffle, tobacco, and black tea backdrop to the fruit then washes of earthiness through the finish which shows great brightness, length, and finesse. This is the youngest and most complex of the trio, with the best potential for aging. Really good stuff, clean, fresh and balanced, 92pts.
2018 Guido Porro Barolo Collina Rionda
Tight on the nose with hints of rosebuds, reticent, this is another type of wine, it’s folded in on itself. There is sweetness to this, but it is restrained by the structure. Terrific depth on the palate, terrific tannins, great liquory nature to the spicy accents here. A regal wine, more upright with a finer vertical nature of the tannins. It’s a little loose as is the nature of the vintage but it’s long and nuanced. Classic Barolo long nuanced and fine. 93pts
Ettore Germano
2018 Ettore Germano Barolo
This is exhibiting a fair amount of evolution, its earthy, dried herbal, and stemmy on the nose with a menthol top note; it’s complex but not fruity. Bigger in the mouth than the nose suggests. Really rather rich, with good power, deep, dusty tannins, rose hips, tobacco, black cherry skin, lots of stoniness on the finish, great firmness that remains in harmony with the richness. This is deceptive, better than the nose suggests, rather old school in flavor profile and even structure, I like this quite a lot, though it may not have huge appeal, 89pts
2018 Ettore Germano Barolo Prapo
Cherry, earthy, sweet black cherry, a little bit of braised herbs and a faint medicinal background note all come together on the nose. This is rich with classic Serralunga sweet fruit, it’s dark, muscular, earthy, hawthorne accented flavors that are powerful with good chewy depth. It is a touch dry on the backend, and short but this has excellent potential. There’s even a sweetness to the tannin Tea, tobacco, and dried chestnut flavors grace the long, succulent, if again more on the savory tertiary end of the spectrum, finish along with an amazing soil impression on the finale. 92pts,
2018 Ettore Germano Barolo Cerretta
Fruity, though with more of a clay note on the nose than the other bottlings here. Smells youthful, very perfumed, very pretty, with sweet, candied, lingonberry aromas with lots of dried wild thyme, wild rosemary, hints, balsamic, shows a streak of oak as well, Bright, fresh, a bit fleshy in the mouth, shows a touch of oak up front, then something gentle, green and herbal on the palate with more soil tones, limestone and salinity. There’s great freshness and energy here, but this certainly needs time in the bottle, as it’s pretty tannic, 91pts
Stefano Oreste
2018 Stefano Oreste Barolo Perno
This has terrific fruit on the nose, candied raspberries candied cranberries, a hint of Christmas spice, balsam, a hint of big barrel wood influence, Richness up front, followed by firmness and good tension on the palate. This is one of the more tannic wines we’ve tasted from 2018, but at the same time it is long, with good purity to the red fruit, in need of bottle age, has richness and sweetness to the fruit, lovely nuance on the mid palate, that leads to a crushed red berry fruit over rich dry clay soil tones finish. A complete wine, the inner mouth perfumes on the front half of the palate are really what sets this apart, great spicy fruit on the finish, has that not sweet hard candy quality to the fruit, gains sweetness with air, has a savory, rooty accent on the finale. Just a hint dilute 92pts
Giovanni Viberti
2018 Viberti Barolo Buon Padre
Delicate, slightly pale and slight evolved watercolor toned red color. Quite savory, slightly autumnal, gentle fruity del bosco, with a sandy soil accent. In the mouth this is slightly nutty, pretty fruity up front, quite complex, though slender. Juicy, with plenty of flesh, there’s some sweetness here as well to the raspberry fruit, reminiscent of powdered sugar, wild strawberries, ending with a little orange rind, 89pts
2018 Viberti Barolo Monvigliero
Rosemary, basil stems, rose petals, with a very faint, truffle mushroom note lurking on the nose which has a light, delicate, fruity character. On the palate one finds nice tannin tension, red fruit gracing a long, much bigger glycerine rich feel than either the eye or nose would suggest. It is super pale. All about rose buds, tense crisp tannins, and the chalky finish lending lovely freshness for an 18.Lovely ripe nuanced wine, this has more aging potential than most 2018s, fine balance, and great preservation of fruit. 92pts
G D Vajra
2018 GD Vajra Barolo Albe
Very pretty nose, stewed strawberry fruit, tea, talc, easy fruity, delicate tannins, good acidity, this is a bit simple but so full of fruit, tannins build, more tannic than it seems, classic, delicate, this lacks some flesh, a bit spicy tea like tannins, lovely stuff. Good persistence to the fruit. 89pts
2018 GD Vajra Barolo Bricco delle Viole
Savory extract, of rose hips, tea, dried thyme, dried mint, minty and finely defined red currant fruit all come together on the nose. Tighter, silky, almost ready with great gunpowder tea notes on the palate followed by dusty tannins. This has great depth, more about purity and finesse with great purity of red fruit, the finish shows this needs more time but it has reserves of fresh red fruit that will easily handle the tannins. This has among the least 2018 character of all wines tasted. 94pts
2018 GD Vajra Ravera
Great red color, great red fruit, wild cherry, tar underlay, a hint of briariness, supple, already broad in the mouth, deeper, more intense, complex but there is a savoriness here as well. This is a more serious with rusty almost tannins, and so much clay impact on the palate, needs more time than most. 93pts
2018 GD Vajra Coste di Rose
A touch weedy, absolutely perfumed on the nose, lilacs, so floral, just a hint of pepperiness, with fabulous richness and ripeness for the vintage, ripe tannins with just an edge of austerity, lacks some complexity but is filled with perfumed fruit, a bit short, gentle this has a very savory core to it, strong rose on the nose with a hint of vegetal lurking. Shows the unevenness of the vintage, though the sand soil handled the late rains well. 91pts
2018 Baudana Barolo Serralunga
Deep iron, black cherry, dried rose, dried citron peel, dried clay earth on the nose all smelling rather sumptuous. Round, ample, broad, in the mouth with a delicate color, slightly medicinal. Delicate, though with such clarity on the palate, just classic Barolo, fresh, 90% of what is possible, man this is well balanced, it’s tannic and firm and deep and dark, slightly mysterious and notably long for the vintage, Vajra style Serralunga muscle 92pts
2018 Baudana Barolo Baudana
This too is intense on the nose, rich with rose hips, black berry fruit, black cherry, iron, And some dried medicinal herbs, intense, with an incipient truffle note. Round, deep, and a bit less well balanced than the Serralunga on the palate. Front loaded with cherry fruit, lots of clay soil tones on the midpalate, huge tannins clip the finish. Reticent. 90pts
2018 Baudana Barolo Cerretta
More brown soil notes here than on the Baudana, but quite similar if more black cherry toned, more perhaps nail polish, definitely a suggestion of VA, needs even more air. On the palate this is almost opulent, with fine cut and tension, the tannins here are riper, sweeter, this has good depth, dusty soil notes, great length, almost a vanilla note, bright tense and very transparent. This is more complete, there is a structural similarity to BdV in the tannin’s ripeness. 92pts
Fratelli Alessandria
2018 Fratelli Alessandria Barolo di Verduno 14.5%
A bit animale, definitely has a light Slavonian oak cast the the aromas, salumi, rosehips, chestnut, fruity del tosco, incipient mushroom/forest floor note, this is already singing, it’s complex, with soft tannins, good fruit, a touch of forest floor, dried balsamic and incipient mushroom notes. Needs a bit more time to relax on the palate, long return of raspberry fruit, classic Barolo Classico. Love this now and over the next 3-5 years, has tight knit tannins and good length, sandalwood tone ont he finish, short though with a hint of peppery spice on the finish. 89pts
2018 Fratelli Alessandria Barolo San Lorenzo 15%
Already with tea and tobacco accents on the nose, hint of toasted hickory nuts, smoke, salumi, and chalky soil. Generous and tense in the mouth with good richness, lovely acidic lift, savory red fruit, sated plummy kind of umami thing going on. This is rich, powerful and intense with great freshness, it’s approachable today and really encapsulates Verduno style, decent length, needs a few years, has already some finer inner mouth perfumes, not too much 2018 character, fruity sour wild cherry on the finish gains length with air, then it’s all chalky soil. Very good potential, sneaky length. 92pts
2018 Fratelli Alessandria Monvigliero 15%
This is showing great freshness classic cherries in alcohol, tight, fresh rose petal, with air a faint twig, stemmy, tree note comes out, opulent, sweet, fruit laden on opening, then this turns more delicate, but very complex and layered, with good length. All a gauze of Verduno fruit over chalky soil, nose gains some black cherry fruit, needs time, is firm yet ripe, there’s a hint of blood like salinity here that draws out the finish, really great freshness and a huge fruit for the vintage, 94pts
2018 Fratelli Alessandria Barolo Gramolere
So different on the nose from the Verduno wine of Alessandria, tobacco, dried herbs, river stones, lots of cigar, damp earth, cellar, raw root vegetables , round easy, there’s more 18 character here, the tannins are cruder, this has good length but less fruit and elegance, lemon tea, tea, damp tobacco, red currant and a deep savory streak, this is marked by the vintage. A bit smoky on the finish. 87pts
If it was 1988 we would all be singing the modest praises of the vintage. Classic, understated, early approachability and well balanced, with ripe tannins. But it’s 2021 and we’ve been spoiled, not only by the unprecedented run of great vintages, but also by the remarkable technological advances found in both the vineyards and the cellars of Piemonte, and we are spared the opinions of people who tasted vintages like 1981 and 1983 on release. Well mostly.
In order to not be cryptic let me say up front that I think 2018 is quite a decent vintage. On the 100 point scale we use it’s probably about an 83 as a vintage, obviously with better wineries capable of exceeding the general limits of the vintage. It’s a vintage that will get worse before it gets better. By that I mean it is a sort of classic vintage, which will suffer through some closed, unbalanced years before finding it’s equilibrium.
The opposite of say 2014, where many wines were saved by pre-fermentation macerations, and abbreviated post fermentation macerations which resulted in wines fairly rich with fruit, but poor prognosis on the aging front. On the contrary, 2018 should be both early maturing as well as classically maturing. By that I mean the wines should, relatively quickly, develop both the textures and flavor profiles of classic Barolo, a feat the 2014s will struggle with it at best.
Credit must be given to the brave vintners here. They worked tirelessly in the vineyard through a vintage that featured tough going from start to finish: and then they made their wines. Almost if surrendering, they just made their wines. No tricks, no fiddling in the cellar. Presumably they have had so many great vintages that many were comfortably making Barolo as it had once been made. Normal little vintage, useful they might be called, but honest interpretations of terroir. One of the most common identifiers is the pale color of so many of the wines. This is due no doubt to both the relatively large clusters the early rains and warm summer stimulated, as well as the late rains in early September that helped swell the fruit, though the previous year’s drought helped to create conditions in the soil that were conducive to high levels of precipitates, which stripped some substance of the wines as they fell clean.
So that’s what the 2018s are like. Elegant, fine, many delicious, a few underwhelming, but honest, and if they had been produced in 1984 there would have been much rejoicing! But they weren’t, so we lament, or we extoll. It all depends which side of the argument you’ve chosen to make your name. Look, this is not a great vintage, and very few truly compelling wines were produced so you should disabuse yourself of the ideas put forth by writers wanting to either ingratiate themselves with the producers, or stand in stark contrast to the naysayers, who in fact jumped the gun, forgot what Barolo actually tasted like not too long ago, or just luxuriate in the attention their self-made controversies create.
Having said all that I will say some super wines were produced. The smaller producers really surprised here, and some of the bigger producers stumbled the hardest. Gianni Canonica produced wines that are great wines. Not great 2018s, just great wines. Claudio Boggione did the same. These are tiny producers, who do it all themselves, and with the issues presented in 2018, that seems to have been a distinct advantage. Stefano Oreste is another that comes to mind.
Just to recap, 2018 Barolo is pale, fragrant, early maturing in most cases, fresh, and potentially delicious without being too difficult.
I did not taste that many producers this year. Between COVID, and an ill timed visit to Piedmont, and a set of samples lost in transit my selection remains ample, but reduced. Nonetheless, I am confident that what I have tasted is both representative of the vintage, as well as sufficient to generalize as I have; and for no other reason than I have them typed I I present my notes to you below. I will start with a list of top scoring wines followed by wines grouped by producer, as I often fall into the lazy habit of referencing one wine to another in the same producer’s portfolio. In order of my scheduled visits.
95pts
2018 Giovanni Canonica Paiagallo
2018 Oddero Barolo Brunate
94pts
2018 Claudio Boggione Brunate
2018 Elvio Cogno Barolo Ravera
2018 Brovia Barolo Ca’Mia Brea
2018 GD Vajra Barolo Bricco delle Viole
2018 Fratelli Alessandria Monvigliero
93pts
2018 Ferdinando Principiano Barolo Ravera
2018 G Conterno Barolo Cerretta
2018 G Conterno Barolo Francia
2018 Ernesto Molino Barolo Bricco Rocca
2018 Burzi Barolo
2018 Barolo Barale Castellero
2018 Brovia Barolo Garblet Sue
2018 Oddero Barolo Vigna Rionda
2018 G Porro Barolo Santa Caterina
2018 G Porro Barolo Vigna Rionda
2018 GD Vajra Barolo Ravera
Wines tasted by producer in order of scheduled visits.
Giuseppe Rinaldi
2018 G Rinaldi Tre Tine
Slightly vegetal on the nose, though it does offer up plenty of sweet. Burgundian styled fruit along with Sweet spice notes and perfumes of pressed flowers. Spicy and a touch lean on entry. Lean, delicate, and small scaled across the palate. The tannins are a little hard, though the tobacco, spearmint, and sour cherry flavors do a fine job of covering them through the long, earthy finish. Perhaps a touch soft. 91pts
2018 G Rinaldi Brunate
More licorice scented and certainly spicier on the nose with darker fruit, leathery fruit. This is lean but has a core of sweetness in the mouth. It’s a nuanced and very pleasant version of Brunate, a mini-Brunate if you will. Tannins are all powdered and soft. Everything important floats above the palate. Delicate and refined. 91pts
Ferdinando Principiano
2018 F Principiano Barolo del Commune Serralunga 14%
Bronzy delicate, with a red core in the glass. Wow, this is fragrant and sweet, woodsy with a frutti del bosco sweetness along with bay laurel and cool spearmint framing notes. Has this thin veneer of fruit sweetness early on the palate which it actually holds on through the palate, yet displays terrific transparency across the mid palate. Medicinal notes add to the aromatic profile. So taut and nuanced across the palate with these fine grained, tiny austere noble tannins.Seriously austere on the finish but nothing a few years wouldn’t remedy. This is raw and stern, And yet it has finesse, and incipient elegance. Barolo 1981. 91pts
2018 F Principiano Barolo Ravera 14%
Gorgeous on the nose and rich with deep, musky, dark berried fruit. Smells of Nebbiolo with hints of dried citron peel and floral notes. This has some weight to it, power and depth on the mid pate, good length. Nice acid lift lends freshness to the slow to emerge floral nd spice notes on the palate. A bit minty, and then a touch plummy. Easy to approach already, will live nicely on it’s wonderful balance, Complete wine, and not smaller scaled, but with less resonance perhaps. The perfumes in the empty glass are gorgeous. 93pts
Cascina Fontana
2018 Cascina Fontana Barolo
Has a curious .nose, truffle and savory, then showing off lots of jammy black fruit. It’s both evolved, and youthful and fresh, very 2018. Lots of fruit on entry, red fruit, sour cherry, Ranier cherry, with not inconsequential tannins and supporting acidity. It’s a little simple early on the palate but lovely with a graceful backend and finish that shows hints of reships, dusty earth, and tinges of tar and the truffle notes from the nose. Delicious, in the end fairly complex, well balanced Barolo. 90pts
Giacomo Conterno
2018 GIacomo Conterno Barolo Cerretta
Pale and transparent in the glass. Pretty, with a hint of vanilla to the nose, which is followed by red cherry fruit, mint, and clay aromas. Perfumed in a lean register. Pretty rich and powerful on the palate with a leading edge of fruit weight, then this turns taut and transparent with lovely resonance on the palate full of flavors of sour cherry and spicy earthy undertones. Quite aromatic, iron and spice and really earth driven. It’s a powerful wine, but the not inconsequential tannins are remarkably integrated. Should prove quite long lived. 93pts
2018 GIacomo Conterno Barolo Arione
Musky and earthy, and distinctly more vegetal on the nose than the Cerretta. Air reveals fruity plum accents, stone, tar, and a bit on the medicinal side of the spectrum. Richer and rounder in the mouth with more of a stony, chalky base. It is long, with more of a rosewood impact, quite savory, certainly intense and structured, but hard, with a stronger woodsy character. Shows more elegance and finesse than the Cerretta. 91pts
2018 G Conterno Cascina Francia
More complete, perhaps less intense but dark cherry fruit and earth, iron, offer terrific depth here. Bright, juicy, powerful and more complex than the prior wines. There’s gorgeous red fruit here, pure and tight, with good length supported by powdery tannins. You have to use your imagination here, almost a hint of sweetness to the fruit but with terrific cut, and nuance. aromatically a fine blend of the prior two wines. 93pts
Cantina Bartolo Mascarello
2018 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo 15%
So pretty on the nose with it’s layered presentation full of woodland notes, sticks, dry earth, rose petals, along with an early hint of sweetness, and burnished fruit. Juicy and savory in the mouth with a hint of incipient autumnal character. Rather delicate and, earthy, with the raspberry toned fruit emerging later on the palate. The alcohol is well hidden, good length, complete smaller wine. 91pts
Giovanni Canonica
2018 Giovanni Canonica Grinzane Cavour 15.5%
Bitter melon rind, floral, with a hint of soap to the nose and a latent nuttiness Pretty intense, nice fruit, fairly tannic though with tannins that are nicely ripe. Lacks a little length, rich and almost sandy tactile notions early on the palate, Deep fruit on the mid palate, nice finish shows off muddy earth and licorice tones. Nice complexity and balance on the palate profile. Lots of licorice emerging on the nose. This has a gentle delicacy to it, with a return of tannins on the lengthening finish 91pts
2018 Giovanni Canonica Paiagallo 15%
Oh wow, this has another gear to it, dark berry fruit, licorice, medicinal spice, herbal undertones. Wow this is richer, significantly fruity, with herbal and melon rind undertones, long, intense, deep wine. Packed with fine grained tannins, supple but not soft, there’s terrific depth here, slightly clay tinged soil notes, that hint of incipient nuttiness, a little orange rind emerging on the nose. A big success packed with fruit. 95pts
Claudio Boggione
2018 Claudio Boggione Brunate 14.5%
Tight but pure on the nose, and slightly reticent with slow to emerge perfumes of arugula, watermelon, dark cherry fruit, plum skins and rose petals. A very nice expression of Barolo fruit. This has power, rich tannins, exciting, bright, vivid, this is really well balanced, the fruit fades across the finish but this reveals great clay terroir on the long finish. Quite complex, faceted, sort of black fruited, very 1980s. This is very long with a sneaky floral and candied red cherry return on the final. Has a vague barrel wood induced spice note. Classic wine, hard raspberry candy fruit long on the finish hard, austere, This is better than you think it is. 94pts
Ernesto Molino
2018 Ernesto Molino Bricco Rocca
Tea and tobacco aromas greet the nose followed by chalky, soil tones and a grilled beef note that is accented by an herbal sweetness here, quite detailed. Fruity and softish on entry. There’s lots of good fruit, lean, classic, and salty on the palate with very complex soil and mineral notes laced through it. The finish reveals the delicate, noble tannins. This is subtle and complex, sneaky length, fine resonance of fruit on the finale, little round fruits, fairly elegant and already showing notable evolution. 93pts
Tenuta Montanello
2018 Tenuta Montanello Barolo Montanello 14.5%
Better nose, wood is present but sweeter and delicate, pool of cherry, gentle spice, hints of sweet herbs before the oak creeps in; elegant and refined. There’s lovely fruit here, delicate, wood tannins creep in a bit too much but of course this is young. This has some energy to it and real freshness of fruit, good length, there’s a fair amount going on here and it handles the oak better than the 17, but the alcohol shows through a bit. This is really quite good. Long finish great inner mouth perfumes and great finesse. 91pts
Elvio Cogno
2018 Elvio Cogno Barolo Cascina Nuova
Super pale color. Lovely nose, you can smell the stems here, cinnamon, and sweet spices, amarena cherries, with hints of tar, licorice, sweet gum and violets Rose petals emerge in the mouth on entry, a bit loose but it’s very aromatic in the mouth, bright, juicy and fresh. Tannins are well managed but a touch austere, this is so nuanced, delicate and just finely textured, a seductress of a wine, burnished red fruit on the finish yields to citrus notes and an edge of parchment. Shows its alcohol a touch, more important and more structured than many, with that fruit that emerges on the backend and through the finish, low, sweet, and dark cherry. Drink this over the next 6-8 years, 91pts
2018 Elvio Cogno Barolo Ravera 14.5%
40% whole cluster, 60% Lampia, 40% Michet
At pop n pour this is fairly autumnal already, lots of stewy cherry fruit, a bit stemmy, meaty, rose bud, quite complex, freshens up nicely. On entry one notices the real lift on the palate, decisive, cuts the palate, so fresh, delicate, and vertical with superbly fine tannins, and so pure with such an elegance; just a joy in the mouth. There’s a shimmering transparency here, that reveals the slightly herbal stemmy influence on the palate, so juicy, so drinkable up front but finishes with such depth and nuance and rocky freshness, long and lithe. One of the second best wines of the vintage; wow this is good and so fun to drink. 94pts
Barale
2018 Barale Barolo Commune
Floral, rich with the perfume of rose buds, red fruit, strawberry, talc, sandy, certainly showing good complexity. Delicate in the mouth, high toned, bright fresh and so fragrant. Love this, good depth, hint of rust, tannins are firm and dry, good freshening acidity. Decent length, could be longer, a bit minty on the finish. This is a lot of Barolo for the money. 91pts
2018 Barolo Barale Castellero
Very floral very red fruited on the nose with a little spice, a little jasmine, delicate but deep, Broad in the mouth, a little glycerine lends some roundness, great balsamic toned inner mouth perfumes. This is so classic, so perfumed in the mouth, showing good length and great freshness to the red cherry/raspberry fruit. Just all transparency and purity. Warm cherry fruit, a little frutti del bosco. Very emotional wine. 93pts
2018 Barolo Barale Monrobiolo
A hint of wood greets the nose, followed by deep, dark fruit, that shows less detail but more ripeness here than the other Barale Barolos this year. An altogether more luxurious wine, fruity, sweet tannins, more approachable but less complex and less emotional. A bit short, simple, a little cranberry accent but this does deliver plenty of ripe, friendly, red fruit in a open knit style. 88pts
Burzi
2018 Burzi Barolo
Lovely, burnished violet tinged fruit, greets the nose followed by great floral notes, gardenia, green herb, minty, resiny, medicinal herbs underpinned by a hint of toasty oak. Round on entry, ample, quite generous on the palate, pretty packed for the vintage, burnished cherry fruit, lovely austerity to the tannins, they pull the fruit over the finish. There is perhaps a touch of inkiness on the nose, certainly generous before the tannins kick in and with plenty of fruit, a lovely sense of freshness, orange blossom, also in the mouth. Needs a few years but lovely stuff. With real sneaky length. 93pts
Giulia Negri
2018 Giulia Negri Barolo La Tartuffaia
Slightly autumnal on the nose with small candied raspberry fruit accent notes, and some green tea. It’s all sweet raspberry tea on the palate, a bit angular, with a lovely, gentle richness with tannins that are just a touch crude, decent length, but this feels like peach tea in the mouth with those fuzzy tannins. It is fruity. 89pts
2018 Giulia Negri Barolo Serradinari
Stony, cool, with icy notes on the nose, layered under lots of rose petals and incense. Rounder in the mouth, with more purity of fruit, though a little less complex perhaps but with riper tannins, and all together more pleasing in the mouth. One finds lovely lift, fine tension here, and good length on the lovely, dusty finale, which shows powerful drive. Tannins are rich but ripe. 92pts
Brovia
2018 Brovia Barolo Classico
Beautiful, absolutely classic, cherries in alcohol, tobacco, a little high toned, a touch of white soil, lean but fresh and complete. Fresh and balsamic on entry, good moderate richness, lovely wine, fine and elegant, real complexity already on the palate, cherry fruit is balanced by balsamic and green herbal freshness. Clean, lean, ripe tannins strawberry fruit fans out across the moderately long finish. There’s a sense of delicacy here, it’s Barolo in a minor cord. A bit of a one two punch with the light fruit and balsamic contrast. Balance, firm, elegant and in a word: classic. 90pts
2018 Brovia Rocche del Castiglione
Pale color but bright red, with dried herbal, dried flowers, white soil, and small white cherry aromas on the gorgeous nose. So subtle and nuanced yet classic, light, fresh, pure so bright, super vertical in the mouth, exciting, long, zesty, so delicate and fine, with a kernel of sweetness to the red fruit at it’s core. All lace and finesse. It’s very subtle, compact but long, so delicate, becoming perfumed in the mouth, paradox wine, Voillot like, 92pts
2018 Brovia Villero
Also a little pale, very red color
Rich deep, quite fruity on the nose, a darker shade of fruit, quite precise clay aromas, nettles, that edge of green unripeness. Fairly rich, bright and juicy in the mouth, with a cranberry almost yellow fruit edge. Juicy a bit short, front loaded, nice powdery tannins, bright juicy more fun than the Rocche and in a similar style but less complex and aromatic. This lacks a hint of richness on the finish but is almost the equal of the rocche. Absolutely transparent and delicious. 91pts
2018 Brovia Barolo Garblet Sue
Here there’s a little more pink to the hue, as well as a pool of fruit, framed with dried herbs, red sweet fruit with some cranberry jelly notes and a hint of pomegranate, framed with gentle clay notes. Features lots of lean red fruit on entry, bright, juicy, fairly tannic for the vintage, wow this has huge followthrough, good length, juicy, a bit of an orange tone on the finish. The tannins are really well managed here, a bit more tannic perhaps than the prior wines, richer, a little more rustic a tiny bit of chew here, sneaky length. 93pts
2018 Brovia Barolo Ca’Mia Brea
Classic Brea nose, dark earth, black tea, almost a hint of carob, dark cherry, white flowers, incipient licorice. Rich, smooth, and velvety in the mouth, so velvety for a young Brea. Deep, slightly medicinal just packed with flavor, so well balanced, a touch short but this is lacking nothing, just a strikingly pure, transparent about 90% of the maximum expression of Brea, with such lovely tannins on the finish driving a pure, earth and fruit, almost plummy fruit laced finish. Needs more time than most 5 years a fine blend of elegance and power 94pts
Fratelli Oddero
2018 Oddero Barolo
A hint of fudge greets the nose followed by dark wild cherry fruit a nice extract of bay oily herbs, a hint of sage and chestnut. Perhaps lacking some definition in the mouth, it is rich and round, there’s power, fruit, and perfume here, with lovely soil driven depth, but it lacks a bit of a center. Yet it is so inviting and fresh red fruit with good length, lovely wine needs 2-3 years in bottle. 91pts
2018 Oddero Barolo Brunate
Deep, aromatic, with a lovely display of precise, herbal, dark earthy and sandalwood laced fruit. Lifted on the nose, elegant but also super suave and supple in the mouth, deep precise rich red fruit, tart sour berry fruit, with an incipient hint of truffle. Juicy and fine, almost lacy with firm yet well integrated tannins and juicy acids. A wine of the vintage. 95pts
2018 Oddero Barolo Vigna Rionda
This is also exhibiting great fruit and freshness on the nose, a hint of olive is followed by ripe red currant, then a bit of Christmas spice, a hint of oak as well, deeply laced in there. Tight, tight, tight, long, focused, fine tannins, elegant and finessed, this is silky, but in no way even near ready. Very ageable for the vintage, and probably will be excellent. 93pts
Massolino
2018 Massolino Barolo
This is good, tobacco, earth, very Serralunga and very approachable. A bit minty, and a bit sweetly medicinal. Offering cool menthol attributes on entry, then turning tense and dusty on the palate which show off long, huge rose petals, tobacco, and sweetly woodsy flavors in a smooth but still tannic package. Dark fruit flavors pair with a sense of delicacy here, leading to a rosehip and citrus flavored finish. A hint too soft perhaps, very Serralunga in a balsamic style, needs another 2-3 years. 89pts
Guido Porro
2018 Guido Porro Barolo Gianetto 14.5%
Sweet fruit, big sandalwood and incense aromas grace the nose along with Serralunga spice notes, fig, some plum in alcohol, late arriving cinnamon quinine spice lends complexity. Smooth, a bit loose as is the style of the vintage, but this has lots of fruit and spice with an incipient truffle note. I’s sweet on the medicinal end of the spectrum, long, a little chewy, quite classic, smells more complex and intense that it is on the palate but it’s lovely with good fruit and freshness and a more youthful character than many 2018s. Love the spicy nature here, mace, allspice, super complexity if savory quality on the finish. 92pts
2018 Guido Porro Barolo Santa Caterina 14.5%
More subtle, more floral, red roses, red berry fruit, pipe briar, ash, subtle and complex. In a more elegant, less effusive style than the Gianetto, less sweetly fruited and spicy, but this has subtlety and elegance, very fine, great balance the tannins are just slightly reined in, pure finesse, elegance, a hint of more licorice toned medicinal character, this is very good stuff, sweet fruit, red fruit tobacco. 93pts
2018 Guido Porro Barolo Lazzairasco
More tuffley, slightly pruny, figgy, complex, subtle and earthy on the nose, with a salumi umami note as well as hints of cinnamon and rust. Tighter, more muscle here, almost chewy, fine transparent red berry fruit,with a truffle, tobacco, and black tea backdrop to the fruit then washes of earthiness through the finish which shows great brightness, length, and finesse. This is the youngest and most complex of the trio, with the best potential for aging. Really good stuff, clean, fresh and balanced, 92pts.
2018 Guido Porro Barolo Collina Rionda
Tight on the nose with hints of rosebuds, reticent, this is another type of wine, it’s folded in on itself. There is sweetness to this, but it is restrained by the structure. Terrific depth on the palate, terrific tannins, great liquory nature to the spicy accents here. A regal wine, more upright with a finer vertical nature of the tannins. It’s a little loose as is the nature of the vintage but it’s long and nuanced. Classic Barolo long nuanced and fine. 93pts
Ettore Germano
2018 Ettore Germano Barolo
This is exhibiting a fair amount of evolution, its earthy, dried herbal, and stemmy on the nose with a menthol top note; it’s complex but not fruity. Bigger in the mouth than the nose suggests. Really rather rich, with good power, deep, dusty tannins, rose hips, tobacco, black cherry skin, lots of stoniness on the finish, great firmness that remains in harmony with the richness. This is deceptive, better than the nose suggests, rather old school in flavor profile and even structure, I like this quite a lot, though it may not have huge appeal, 89pts
2018 Ettore Germano Barolo Prapo
Cherry, earthy, sweet black cherry, a little bit of braised herbs and a faint medicinal background note all come together on the nose. This is rich with classic Serralunga sweet fruit, it’s dark, muscular, earthy, hawthorne accented flavors that are powerful with good chewy depth. It is a touch dry on the backend, and short but this has excellent potential. There’s even a sweetness to the tannin Tea, tobacco, and dried chestnut flavors grace the long, succulent, if again more on the savory tertiary end of the spectrum, finish along with an amazing soil impression on the finale. 92pts,
2018 Ettore Germano Barolo Cerretta
Fruity, though with more of a clay note on the nose than the other bottlings here. Smells youthful, very perfumed, very pretty, with sweet, candied, lingonberry aromas with lots of dried wild thyme, wild rosemary, hints, balsamic, shows a streak of oak as well, Bright, fresh, a bit fleshy in the mouth, shows a touch of oak up front, then something gentle, green and herbal on the palate with more soil tones, limestone and salinity. There’s great freshness and energy here, but this certainly needs time in the bottle, as it’s pretty tannic, 91pts
Stefano Oreste
2018 Stefano Oreste Barolo Perno
This has terrific fruit on the nose, candied raspberries candied cranberries, a hint of Christmas spice, balsam, a hint of big barrel wood influence, Richness up front, followed by firmness and good tension on the palate. This is one of the more tannic wines we’ve tasted from 2018, but at the same time it is long, with good purity to the red fruit, in need of bottle age, has richness and sweetness to the fruit, lovely nuance on the mid palate, that leads to a crushed red berry fruit over rich dry clay soil tones finish. A complete wine, the inner mouth perfumes on the front half of the palate are really what sets this apart, great spicy fruit on the finish, has that not sweet hard candy quality to the fruit, gains sweetness with air, has a savory, rooty accent on the finale. Just a hint dilute 92pts
Giovanni Viberti
2018 Viberti Barolo Buon Padre
Delicate, slightly pale and slight evolved watercolor toned red color. Quite savory, slightly autumnal, gentle fruity del bosco, with a sandy soil accent. In the mouth this is slightly nutty, pretty fruity up front, quite complex, though slender. Juicy, with plenty of flesh, there’s some sweetness here as well to the raspberry fruit, reminiscent of powdered sugar, wild strawberries, ending with a little orange rind, 89pts
2018 Viberti Barolo Monvigliero
Rosemary, basil stems, rose petals, with a very faint, truffle mushroom note lurking on the nose which has a light, delicate, fruity character. On the palate one finds nice tannin tension, red fruit gracing a long, much bigger glycerine rich feel than either the eye or nose would suggest. It is super pale. All about rose buds, tense crisp tannins, and the chalky finish lending lovely freshness for an 18.Lovely ripe nuanced wine, this has more aging potential than most 2018s, fine balance, and great preservation of fruit. 92pts
G D Vajra
2018 GD Vajra Barolo Albe
Very pretty nose, stewed strawberry fruit, tea, talc, easy fruity, delicate tannins, good acidity, this is a bit simple but so full of fruit, tannins build, more tannic than it seems, classic, delicate, this lacks some flesh, a bit spicy tea like tannins, lovely stuff. Good persistence to the fruit. 89pts
2018 GD Vajra Barolo Bricco delle Viole
Savory extract, of rose hips, tea, dried thyme, dried mint, minty and finely defined red currant fruit all come together on the nose. Tighter, silky, almost ready with great gunpowder tea notes on the palate followed by dusty tannins. This has great depth, more about purity and finesse with great purity of red fruit, the finish shows this needs more time but it has reserves of fresh red fruit that will easily handle the tannins. This has among the least 2018 character of all wines tasted. 94pts
2018 GD Vajra Ravera
Great red color, great red fruit, wild cherry, tar underlay, a hint of briariness, supple, already broad in the mouth, deeper, more intense, complex but there is a savoriness here as well. This is a more serious with rusty almost tannins, and so much clay impact on the palate, needs more time than most. 93pts
2018 GD Vajra Coste di Rose
A touch weedy, absolutely perfumed on the nose, lilacs, so floral, just a hint of pepperiness, with fabulous richness and ripeness for the vintage, ripe tannins with just an edge of austerity, lacks some complexity but is filled with perfumed fruit, a bit short, gentle this has a very savory core to it, strong rose on the nose with a hint of vegetal lurking. Shows the unevenness of the vintage, though the sand soil handled the late rains well. 91pts
2018 Baudana Barolo Serralunga
Deep iron, black cherry, dried rose, dried citron peel, dried clay earth on the nose all smelling rather sumptuous. Round, ample, broad, in the mouth with a delicate color, slightly medicinal. Delicate, though with such clarity on the palate, just classic Barolo, fresh, 90% of what is possible, man this is well balanced, it’s tannic and firm and deep and dark, slightly mysterious and notably long for the vintage, Vajra style Serralunga muscle 92pts
2018 Baudana Barolo Baudana
This too is intense on the nose, rich with rose hips, black berry fruit, black cherry, iron, And some dried medicinal herbs, intense, with an incipient truffle note. Round, deep, and a bit less well balanced than the Serralunga on the palate. Front loaded with cherry fruit, lots of clay soil tones on the midpalate, huge tannins clip the finish. Reticent. 90pts
2018 Baudana Barolo Cerretta
More brown soil notes here than on the Baudana, but quite similar if more black cherry toned, more perhaps nail polish, definitely a suggestion of VA, needs even more air. On the palate this is almost opulent, with fine cut and tension, the tannins here are riper, sweeter, this has good depth, dusty soil notes, great length, almost a vanilla note, bright tense and very transparent. This is more complete, there is a structural similarity to BdV in the tannin’s ripeness. 92pts
Fratelli Alessandria
2018 Fratelli Alessandria Barolo di Verduno 14.5%
A bit animale, definitely has a light Slavonian oak cast the the aromas, salumi, rosehips, chestnut, fruity del tosco, incipient mushroom/forest floor note, this is already singing, it’s complex, with soft tannins, good fruit, a touch of forest floor, dried balsamic and incipient mushroom notes. Needs a bit more time to relax on the palate, long return of raspberry fruit, classic Barolo Classico. Love this now and over the next 3-5 years, has tight knit tannins and good length, sandalwood tone ont he finish, short though with a hint of peppery spice on the finish. 89pts
2018 Fratelli Alessandria Barolo San Lorenzo 15%
Already with tea and tobacco accents on the nose, hint of toasted hickory nuts, smoke, salumi, and chalky soil. Generous and tense in the mouth with good richness, lovely acidic lift, savory red fruit, sated plummy kind of umami thing going on. This is rich, powerful and intense with great freshness, it’s approachable today and really encapsulates Verduno style, decent length, needs a few years, has already some finer inner mouth perfumes, not too much 2018 character, fruity sour wild cherry on the finish gains length with air, then it’s all chalky soil. Very good potential, sneaky length. 92pts
2018 Fratelli Alessandria Monvigliero 15%
This is showing great freshness classic cherries in alcohol, tight, fresh rose petal, with air a faint twig, stemmy, tree note comes out, opulent, sweet, fruit laden on opening, then this turns more delicate, but very complex and layered, with good length. All a gauze of Verduno fruit over chalky soil, nose gains some black cherry fruit, needs time, is firm yet ripe, there’s a hint of blood like salinity here that draws out the finish, really great freshness and a huge fruit for the vintage, 94pts
2018 Fratelli Alessandria Barolo Gramolere
So different on the nose from the Verduno wine of Alessandria, tobacco, dried herbs, river stones, lots of cigar, damp earth, cellar, raw root vegetables , round easy, there’s more 18 character here, the tannins are cruder, this has good length but less fruit and elegance, lemon tea, tea, damp tobacco, red currant and a deep savory streak, this is marked by the vintage. A bit smoky on the finish. 87pts