Bruno Giacosa, Barolo, Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Riserva 2016

This is the second 100-point Vigna Le Rocche, following the 2015. What the former had in intensity of fruit and transparency, this has in structure and power. The purity of fruit is sensational in this young Barolo, offering blackberries, black truffle and iron. Rust too. This is so tannic and powerful with incredible structure. This may be the most structured Barolo from Bruno Giacosa I have ever tasted as a young wine. Speechless. Full-bodied and so intense, yet it remains fresh and agile. Traditional in every sense of the word, but this is clear and clean. A classic in the making. It will be in the market January 2022. Leave this for at least six to eight years. Try in 2027.

The 2016 vintage of Giacosa’s iconic red-label Riserva from the township of Serralunga, and specifically the oldest vines within the Falletto MGA, doesn’t disappoint. Mineral-driven notes of iron, iodine and incense are most definitely at the fore. They meld with rich earth, blackcurrant and just a hint of fennel. The palate is awash with imposing tannins, yet for all their firmness they infiltrate the palate with surprising grace, matched by a sumptuousness of fruit. Longlimbed, classy and enduring, this is one to squirrel away.

The Bruno Giacosa 2016 Barolo Riserva Falletto Vigna Le Rocche sees its fruit sourced from the oldest vines in the Falletto cru. This wine boasts all the signature touches of Serralunga d'Alba with the massive structure, density and the long aging potential that comes with Nebbiolo grown in this village. The wine spreads evenly over the palate, imparting its considerable fruit weight and generally leaving a big impact. This Barolo is really quite lovely and beautiful. The bouquet is fluid and ever-shifting, showing new sides with firm fruit, blackberry, smoke, rusty nail and mineral with every swirl of the glass. I visited this vineyard site shortly before tasting this wine and marveled at the beautiful peacocks that roam free between the rows of vines.