WEEKEND WINE PICKS
Fontanafredda Barolo Serralunga D'alba 2014, Serralunga, Cuneo, Piedmont, Italy
$49.99 I 90/100
UPC: 8000174100027
I have always been a fan of this very affordable Barolo that comes with just the right amount of pedigree and styling in what was hardly a world-beater vintage. The attack is juicy with light cherry undertones and a classic dry forest-floor scent with a touch of bitterness in the back end. It was the perfect bookend to a sausage pizza, but it has even more to offer beef. You can drink it now with a rustic dish, but I would be inclined to wait until 2022 to give this a chance to unfold in the bottle and your glass. I love the 13.5-per-cent alcohol level that leaves it lively on the palate.
Prunotto Barolo 2014, Piedmont, Italy
$53.99 I 91/100
UPC: 8016001000019
The Prunotto estate is located in Alba halfway between Barbaresco and Barolo on the right side of the Tanaro river. The Antinori family has made a substantial investment in this historic property, and it's now beginning to show. Their 2014 is fermented in stainless steel and aged 24 months in wooden casks. The grapes come off vineyards in Monforte, Castiglione Falletto, and Serralunga, pitching a pale red/orange colour. The attack is fresh with earthy red fruit flecked with roses and cedar. The attack is supple and round with fresh raspberries and licorice that finishes dry, with spice and tobacco streaks. Elegant but needs more time in the bottle. You can drink it now with a steak, but it will be best after 2023.
Marchesi di Barolo Barolo Tradizione 2015, Piedmont, Italy $59.99 I 92/100
UPC: 8004910230009
The grapes hail from the top hillside sites in the small communities of Castiglione Falletto, Barolo, and Monforte d'alba. After a standard fermentation and a malolactic ferment in concrete, the wine spends two years in traditional large Slavonian oak barrels. After bottling, the wine spends several months in the bottle before release, readying it for long life in cellars worldwide. Their 2015 is beautifully aromatic with notes of wild roses and black cherries. There is even more black plum intensity streaked with licorice and light hints of mint on the palate. Approachable now, but there is no rush to drink this for a decade.
Vietti Barolo Castiglione 2016, Langhe, Cuneo, Piedmont, Italy $99.99 (750 ml), $202.99 (1.5L) | 94/100
UPC: 08030198002656
The Castiglione is made with grapes grown across the Barolo region from vines as young as nine years old up to 42 years old, all planted in clay-limestone soil. The fermentation is done in stainless steel with daily submersion of the cap. Post ferment, Vietti ages the wine for 30 months in oak casks and barriques. Now add to that one of the finest vintages ever in Barolo, plus winemaker Lucca Currado, and you have magic. If you want a wine for your cellar that will hang around as long as you, this is it. This label is often characterized as an entry-level wine, but it is anything but in 2016. Rich and full-bodied with compellingly pure black plums, menthol, and flowers dusted in notes of umami. Length and balance are already here, foretelling a long life. Buy, wait, and be happy
Aurelio Settimo Barolo Rocche Dell'annunziata 2014, La Morra, Cuneo, Piedmont, Italy $67.99 I 91/100
UPC: 633913451166
A very traditional Barolo that is aged a year in concrete tanks before resting two years in large, older French oak casks. Built around a succulent core of juicy cherry, this is layered with fresh and dried cherry, plum, leather, elegant along the slender, lengthy palate. The tannins are dense and supple, and well integrated into the fruit, giving their characteristic nebbiolo grip around the sides. This wine is already in a beautiful place. Stock up for this winter and many to come.