Barolo: tasting notes of 20 wines to try

When I think of an extraordinary red wine, I immediately imagine a good bottle of Barolo... which is why I was very happy to participate in this Go Wine at the Starhotels Rosa Grand in Milan. Actually the appointment was also dedicated to Barbaresco and Roero, but since I could not taste everything I chose to taste only these legendary wines. When I arrived at the Marengo Mauro company's banquet, I was struck by this delightful couple, Elisa and Pierpaolo, so much so that when I heard them talking about a 3-day holiday I couldn't help but make a mountain of... breadsticks them and invite them to my place on Monte Isola. My beloved Lake Iseo is such a romantic place! And so here we are spending a wonderful evening together with pappardelle al ragù and their Barolo... I hope to visit them soon with my husband Francesco! 😍

In this article I want to share with you my tasting notes in order of tasting, with the little hearts next to the label name you can immediately see which wines I liked best. However, this is already a selection of the wines I liked best because the ones I didn't like as always I keep for myself. 😉

The Barolo DOCG is an ancient Piedmontese appellation dating back as far as 1933 that includes the municipalities of Barolo, Castiglione Falletto, Serralunga and part of the municipalities of Cherasco, Diano d'Alba, Grinzane Cavour, La Morra, Monforte d'Alba, Novel, Roddi e Verduno in the province of Cuneo. It is made from grapes nebbiolo guyot-trained in hilly vineyards. After a minimum ageing period of 36 months, 18 of which in wood, very different wines are obtained depending on the area of production. I must confess that this heterogeneity of expressions so typical from area to area is one of the reasons why I am in love with Barolo!

Barolo: all tastings

🍷 Alario Claudio Winery

Barolo Riva Rocca 2017

It has a beautiful, transparent and consistent ruby red colour. The nose is interwoven with toasted, spicy and vanilla notes that fade into a cocoa finish. In the mouth it is very toasty, fresh and savoury. The tannin still needs to be smoothed out a little to enjoy it to the full, but it promises great longevity.

🍷 Batasiolo Winery

Barolo Briccolina 2015

It is a beautiful, semi-transparent and consistent ruby red. The nose is a little too delicate for my taste, but still fine and pleasant. Notes of herbs, undergrowth and cocoa intertwine harmoniously, even if it lacks a little drive. It recovers its game in the mouth where it is structured, fresh and savoury. Good harmony, overall it is almost ready but can still evolve.

🍷 Boglietti Enzo Winery

Barolo Brunate 2017 ❤️

It is ruby red tending to garnet, transparent and consistent. The nose is delicate, very fine and elegant. Intermingling of sweet spices, Mon Chéri, milk chocolate and rhubarb with an intriguing balsamic note to close. In the mouth it is fresh, savoury, consistent. The tannin is already rounded and amalgamated, but still has great potential for evolution in the bottle.

Barolo Brione 2014

It is transparent and consistent ruby red. The nose is delicate and fine, with notes that are all about fruit - fresh and jammy blueberries - which blend with a barely noticeable spice. In the mouth it is soft, fresh, tannic and with a fairly long finish.

🍷 Cellar Bolmida Silvano

Barolo Bussia Vigna dei Fantini 2017

It is transparent and consistent ruby red. The nose is very elegant with notes of chocolate, mountain pine and dried hay. In the mouth it is consistent, fresh, soft overall, savoury and fine. The long toffee finish is interesting.

Barolo Bussia 2016

The soil is probably more tuffaceous because the nose is completely different from the previous one and with more pronounced tannin. Even though it is still a Bussia from the same estate, it is a completely different style of making Barolo DOCG while maintaining a similar olfactory profile. In the mouth it is overall softer and more balanced.

Barolo Le coste di Monforte 2015 ❤️ ❤️

Wonderful, I loved it! The nose is very elegant, broad and fine with notes of cocoa, black tea, morello cherry, candied bergamot and liquorice. In the mouth, it is very consistent, fresh, savoury, balanced, with good structure and great ageing potential.

🍷 Cadia Winery

Barolo Monvigliero 2017 ❤️

It has a characteristic transparent and consistent ruby red colour. The nose is very, very good, balanced, elegant and intense. Notes of coffee, porcini mushroom, peppermint, sweet liquorice, candied mandarin and Jamaican black pepper intertwine harmoniously. In the mouth, it is fresh, savoury, elegant and with tannin present but well blended. It can still evolve, but is already very pleasant to drink.

🍷 Chionetti Winery

Of all of them, this is the cellar I liked best. I also tasted their Dogliani and it was so much stuff! I hope to be able to visit them at their winery soon... and since I already have an appointment at Elisa Marengo's, I think I'll organise it! The Chionetti labels are beautiful, a combination of art, history and elegance... so kudos to those who created them.

Parussi 2017

I would call it a 'didactic' Barolo because of its precision. Really well made. The nose is very pleasant, elegant, fine and fruity. In fact, I would say particularly fruity! Fresh fruit is interwoven with balsamic and zingy hints. In the mouth it is elegant, fine and consistent. The tannin is well present, but it is already quite pleasant. Very easy drinking even for the 'initiated'.

Billhooks 2017

A completely different Barolo, more complex on the nose with notes of fresh fruit that fade into intriguing animal hints. In the mouth it is more ready than the Parussi, fresh, soft, balanced, fine and elegant. Very good, with a long, leathery finish.

Bussia 2017 ❤️❤️

I dare to call it the best Barolo in the tasting: I really liked it! The nose is broad, with lots of liquorice. In the mouth it is soft, elegant, consistent and fine with a nice structure and tannins that are present and amalgamated. Long liquorice finish.

Riesling 2019 ❤️❤️

In the midst of all the Barolo I make an exception to tell you that I have also tasted riesling and found it truly superlative. I shamelessly invite myself to the winery to do a vertical tasting of what I think is on the podium of the best Italian rieslings... do you want me? 😄

🍷 Anna Maria Abbona Winery

Castiglione Falletto 2017

It has a classic transparent, consistent ruby red colour. The nose is broad and pleasant, very rounded. Notes of sweet spices, herbs, milk chocolate and salted caramel intertwine. In the mouth it is soft, very fresh, consistent and with tannin present but well blended. Long finish.

Barolo Bricco San Pietro 2017 ❤️

It has a classic transparent, consistent ruby red colour. The nose is rather spicy, with notes of sweet spices mingling with sweetened cocoa powder, rhubarb liqueur and coffee bitterness. In the mouth it is fresh, soft, tannic and long on the finish.

🍷 Marengo Mauro

Pairing these delicious Barolo wines with Monte Isola salami, malga cheeses and my pappardelle al ragù was a lot!

Barolo Ravera 2017 ❤️

Very interesting, the least ready of them all and with terrific ageing potential. The nose consistently needs a little more time. Chocolaty nose, with aromatic herbs, jammy fruit. In the mouth it has very pronounced tannin. Long finish with spicy notes.

Barolo 2016 ❤️❤️

Immediately it remains more closed, but when it opens up it is exceptional. I loved it for its balsamic notes that blend into a bouquet of liquorice, cocoa, spices and cherries in alcohol. In the mouth it is very elegant, fine, with tannin that can carry it through many more years in the bottle.

Barolo Angela 2015

It is ruby red with garnet hues, transparent and consistent. The nose is intense, with notes of ink, black cherry under spirits, violets and porcini mushroom that fade into delicate balmy hints. In the mouth it is very soft, ready, harmonious, with well-blended tannins and a long finish. Definitely a very good Barolo, with a rounded drinkability, even if it does not have the ageing potential it deserves. Perfect to enjoy today.

🍷 Reverdito

Barolo Castagni 2017

It has an intense ruby red colour, transparent and consistent. Very pleasant, balsamic, fine, elegant nose with notes of sweet spices. Soft, tannic, particularly savoury, fresh and with good ageing potential.

Barolo Ascheri 2017

It has an intense ruby red colour, transparent and consistent. More rounded and balanced with very spicy, chocolatey, bitter cocoa and camphor notes. Tannic, fresh, savoury and structured. Excellent ageing potential.

Barolo Badarina 2016 ❤️

It has an intense ruby red colour with garnet hues at the edges, transparent and consistent. The nose is very spicy and balsamic. In the mouth it is soft, fat, fresh, structured, coherent and with a good glycerol component which gives it particularly interesting organoleptic characteristics. I enjoyed it very much!

🍷 Virna

Barolo Cannubi 2017

It has an intense ruby red colour, semi-transparent and consistent. Already pleasant now, it will reach its optimum within 3-4 years. The nose is a riot of animal scents and red-fleshed fruit. In the mouth it is already quite soft, with well-blended tannins and a paraffin finish. In the mouth it is well balanced, round and persistent.

Barolo Sarmassa 2017

It has an intense ruby red colour, transparent and consistent. On the nose, balsamic notes, fresh and jammy blueberries blend with well-dosed vanilla. Austere and powerful, it has great ageing potential.

You can now buy my book dedicated to aspiring sommeliers and sommeliers or scroll down the page to continue reading the article!

All my notes on wine and food in one book.

I hope that among my tasting notes you will find many Barolos to taste. These I have written about are really one better than the other! Go Wine confirms itself as my favourite tasting organiser: tasting benches in the right number that allow me to taste everything or almost everything, competent staff and a location that is always up to the mark.

An invitation to producers: in this type of tasting, if you have several crus, bring the same vintage of each. Unfortunately, it is foolish to taste the 2017 of one Cru and the 2015 of another: each vintage brings with it an influence that prevents one from understanding the terroir. Tastings should be either horizontal or vertical, possibly never mixed.

Thank you very much for your work.

Cheers 🍷

Chiara

P.S. As always, I invite you to scroll down the page and leave me a comment here on the blog! 😉