Giovanni Rosso, Barolo, Vignarionda Ester Canale 2015

If there is a village which has benefitted from the warm vintage in 2015, it is Serralunga. Within it, Vigna Rionda is a cult cru for those seeking elegant Barolo. Extremely pale and garnet coloured, this is reductive in its style with an austere nose of restrained strawberry and rhubarb fruit, then liquorice and tar. It fills the palate with a thick and full body and almost angular yet ripe tannins, showing outstanding integration between fruit and acidity. It's not an easy wine to approach now, yet it has great depth and potential.

The 2015 Barolo Vigna Rionda is a wine of real power and intensity. Readers will have to be patient, as the 2015 needs time for the sensuality and pedigree of Rionda to emerge. Today, the 2015 is a bit bombastic, although it offers tons of allure. Hints of tobacco, leather, dark cherry, licorice, menthol, spice and dried flowers build as the 2015 shows off everything its got. I can't wait to taste the 2015 with a bit more bottle age.