The colour is a deep garnet red, gradually filled with orange hues with aging. The aroma is intense, with clear scents of violet, rose and spices (cinnamon and nutmeg) that with aging develop into tobacco, leather and truffle. The taste is elegant, dry, robust but velvety, harmonious, enveloping, with plenty of tannins that are well-expressed but soft and pleasant.
94 POINTS JAMES SUCKLING
93 POINTS ROBERT PARKER
91 POINTS WINE SPECTATOR
96 POINTS DOCTOR WINE
The grapes grow in vineyards whose soils are particularly rich in clay and limestone and appear as white soil. These soil types are very firm and prevent rain from permeating the ground, leading vines to grow very deep roots to search for water. This produces particularly sparse bunches, with small berries, that give plenty of nutrient minerals, trace elements and tannins to the wines, resulting in tremendous aging potential.
Before that, the wine made from the nebbiolo grape variety offered a completely different taste experience: it was a sweet, sparkling wine. As a matter of fact, in 1787 Thomas Jefferson, who was later to become President of the United States, tried nebbiolo while he was staying at Hôtel d’Angleterre in Turin. In his travel journal, he described it with these words:Before that, the wine made from the nebbiolo grape variety offered a completely different taste experience: it was a sweet, sparkling wine. As a matter of fact, in 1787 Thomas Jefferson, who was later to become President of the United States, tried nebbiolo while he was staying at Hôtel d’Angleterre in Turin. In his travel journal, he described it with these words:
"As silky as Madeira, as astringent as Bordeaux and as brisk as Champagne."
Thomas Jefferson.
It was only later, thanks to an intuition of Marchesa Giulia di Barolo, that the wine took its full-bodied, stable and noble character. She decided to build new cellars to make wine in large casks, a place that was protected from the cold temperatures of late autumn.
Still today, in five of these centuries-old oak casks, thanks to constant and careful maintenance, Barolo renews its history every year.
Pairing Suggestions: It goes well with egg pastas, tajarin and ravioli with hearty sauces such as game meat sauce and truffles; with roasted or braised red meats and game. It is magnificent for sipping alongside sheep and goat cheeses or hard ripened cheeses. It makes for a curious pairing with dry sweets at the end of the meal. If long-aged, it becomes a meditation wine.
Maturation: The first part of the refinement takes place in vitrified concrete tanks, then followed by severalrackings, aimed at clarification in preparation forthe elevage in wood. The Barolo Riserva ages for about 2 years partly in 30 hl Slavonian oak barrels, which contribute to making it harmonious and balanced and to increasing the finesse of the bouquet, and partly in French oak barriques to fix the color and increase the aging potential. It completes its refinement in the bottle for several months and is released only approximately 6 years after the harvest; this gives the wine the balance and powertypical of a Barolo Riserva.
