Nebbiolo grape variety

Vigna Elena is a Ravera parcel of 1 hectare in size. Just 5,000 bottles of Cogno's famous Riserva come from here every year. The Vigna Elena 2019 has just the right balance between fruit and wood, which is often a real challenge in this category. The rather bright bouquet has red fruits and nuances of truffle, ash, dried citrus peel and pressed flowers. Elegant, brooding and powerful, as only a great Barolo can be, Vigna Elena possesses a wealth of nuances and dimensions from the very first sip. Exotic spice and orange peel notes, followed later by ripe raspberries, mocha and autumn leaves. The Vigna Elena 2019 is an absolute delight. SUPERIORE.DE

Chiara Boschi's Cannubi 2020 beguiles on the nose with layers of fragrant fruit. A sensual Barolo and yet quite typical in its vineyard character. Soft, silky tannins frame the long finish. A wonderful wine, characterised by its balance and above all by the sweetness of its tannins. Very full-bodied, focussed and with great length. SUPERIORE.DE

Barolo Cannubi 2021 is a great wine that emphasises the classic beauty of Nebbiolo and the top vintage. This wine is like a statue of a Greek goddess with perfect proportions and feminine aesthetics. The bouquet is multi-layered, with bright fruits, white pepper, mint, orange peel and spicy liquorice. The tannins are polished and fine, with a hint of the characteristic limestone chalk that you sometimes taste in Cannubi. The lively acidity rounds off this extremely elegant, fresh and graceful wine. Very full-bodied and focussed, with great length and great potential. SUPERIORE.DE

The Falletto vineyard in Serralunga d'Alba is considered the centrepiece of Bruno Giacosa's work. The south and south-west facing slopes with calcareous marl soils produce Nebbiolo with unmistakable depth and structure. The 2020 vintage was characterised by a warm, sunny summer, balanced by cool nights and a long, stable autumn – ideal conditions for fully ripe, aromatically complex grapes with precise acidity.

Giulia Negri would certainly not have the nickname "Barolo Girl" if this wine did not exist. The grapes for this archetype of a modern-traditional (sic!) Barolo come from the top vineyards of Brunate and Serradenari, the latter of which lies at an altitude of up to 520 metres and the soils are clayey-sandy. The grapes are fermented spontaneously and then matured in large oak barrels. Barriques? Not a chance.

Angelo Gaja's 2021 Barbaresco is a wine with poise and grace that has a lot to offer. Expressive spicy and floral notes are the first to open up, but what really stands out is the wine's nuance and delineation. The transparency is unmistakable. Sweet red cherries, mint, cinnamon and rose petals develop in the glass and add further nuances. The flavour is balanced and spicy, the tannins firm and the finish precise and long. This muscular monument of a red wine definitely needs a few more years of bottle ageing, with a little patience it will transform into pure elegance. Put simply, the 2021 is one of the best Gaja Barbarescos of recent times. SUPERIORE.DE

In 1400, the Duke of Milan gifted Captain Stefano Quadrio a castle in Chiuro. Quadrio became governor of the Valtellina, planted vines, sold wine and had cellars built on four levels beneath the house. Just under five hundred years later, in 1897, Nino Negri arrived from Aprica, married Amelia Galli and established a winery in the same village. The old cellars still exist today, and they are an integral part of the wine: Castel Chiuro matures there in barrels and bottles for at least ten years. It is produced only in the finest vintages.

The genius of Neive, as they called Bruno Giacosa – this quiet, uncompromising man who had never seen the inside of an oenology school and yet made some of the greatest Nebbiolo wines of the 20th century. Since his death in 2018, daughter Bruna Giacosa has continued to run the winery in Neive together with cellar master Dante Scaglione. The same precision. The same philosophy: large wood, long maceration, absolute respect for the terroir. No compromise that does not begin in the vineyard. Rabajà is the other face of Barbaresco. Where Asili – the second large Giacosa parcel – stands for elegance and floral fragrance, Rabajà is the harder, more mineral, more structured brother. South-south-west exposure, chalky clay, warmer than its neighbours to the north – a vineyard that Giacosa only acquired in 2013 when Lorenzo Alutto offered a small, historic parcel on the open market. 0.6 hectares. Around 4,000 bottles. Grapes that had previously flowed into the crus (riserve) of the Produttori del Barbaresco for decades.

In 1982, Bruno Giacosa bought the Falletto vineyard in Serralunga d'Alba. It was the first and most important investment of his life – and it came as no surprise to those who knew him. Since the 1960s, he had been vinifying bought-in grapes from this south-eastern corner of the Barolo area and making wines that are still among the reference points of the appellation today. When the farmers began to bottle their own wines, there was only one answer for Giacosa: to buy what he could no longer rent.

Marassio is Giulia Negri's highest Barolo parcel and lies at an altitude of just under 540 metres on the western edge of La Morra – a cool, windy location where Nebbiolo ripens particularly slowly and evenly. The soil, rich in limestone marl and fine clay, gives the wine a distinctive minerality and firm structure. The wine is aged for 30 months in large, neutral wooden barrels to preserve the pure expression of the site. 2020 offered a balanced climate with warm, dry phases and sufficiently cool nights, which gave the Nebbiolo a rare balance of aromatic richness and precise acidity.

La Serra 2015 comes from a fairly warm year and here the advantage of the slightly higher and cooler location is clearly evident. As always, the flavours are bright and floral, with a good underpinning of chalky, mineral tones, with remarkable polish and class. Dark red stone fruits, flowers, spices and leather are supported by the characteristic firm tannins, lovely depth in the mid palate and overall a great volume that makes it seem complete and perfect. A great wine and one of the best Barolo of the 2015 vintage. SUPERIORE.DE

Barolo Brunate is a breathtaking expression of great complexity and finesse. The wine has a lively garnet red colour with a balanced and intense bouquet: sage, mint, undergrowth, tar, tobacco and liquorice nuances give Brunate a striking aromatic complexity. At the heart of the bouquet, as well as on the palate, there is plenty of dark fruit, including blackcurrants and plums. Gains breadth with time in the glass and the already fine tannins will certainly become even smoother with further ageing in the bottle. A Barolo with real presence and stature and for us the most accessible Barolo in Voerzio's exceptional collection! SUPERIORE.DE

Barolo Cerequio unfolds its cornucopia of cherries, ripe red berries, violets, leather and tar only after many minutes in the glass. Firm and powerful on the palate - shows an impressive and firm structure, yet the wine remains delicate, mineral and full of finesse throughout. It is perhaps the most balanced of Roberto Voerzio's top wines, and even if it appears quite accessible at a young age, it will only reveal its true potential and class in many years. SUPERIORE.DE

Undisputedly the most powerful and robust Barolo in Roberto Voerzio's top range is the Rocche dell'Annunziata from one of La Morra's best sites. For us, it is a benchmark in determination and forward-driven dynamism. Wonderfully coordinated fruit and spice components, a great wealth of impressions and precisely drawn beauty characterise this exceptional Barolo. Intensely fragrant nose of plums, pickled cherries and lots of raspberry, rounded off by cedar, spices and tobacco. In its depth, complexity and determination it does not come to rest, even 24 hours after opening the bottle the connoisseur is still surprised with fine notes of mint and balsam and this immensely expressive and charming wine shows no signs of ageing. SUPERIORE.DE

Some layers are loud, others whisper. Cerequio is one of the whisperers – and if you don't listen carefully, you will miss the subtle nuances that make this cru one of the most enigmatic in the entire Barolo universe. Surrounded by its most prestigious neighbours La Morra, Cerequio lies at an altitude of 300 metres above a foundation of white clay and bluish marl. Roberto Voerzio likes to compare his Cerequio wines with Haut-Brion – an unusual comparison for a Barolo, but anyone who tastes this wine will understand the allusion: it is about that ethereal elegance that unfolds rather than imposes itself. What distinguishes Cerequio from the more powerful crus is its almost floating lightness. Voerzio speaks of "round, elegant, ethereal" – attributes that are rarely associated with Barolo. But this is precisely where the magic lies: Cerequio combines density with finesse, concentration with airiness. The 24-month maturation in French barriques and large barrels has given the wine depth without stifling its youthful grace.

Undeniably the most powerful and robust Barolo in Roberto Voerzio's top range is the Rocche dell'Annunziata from one of the best sites of La Morra. For us, it is a benchmark in determination and forward-driven dynamism. Wonderfully coordinated fruit and spice components, a great wealth of impressions and precisely drawn beauty characterise this exceptional Barolo. Intensely fragrant nose of plums, pickled cherries and lots of raspberry, rounded off by cedar, spices and tobacco. In its depth, complexity and determination it does not come to rest, even 24 hours after opening the bottle the connoisseur is still surprised with fine notes of mint and balsam and this immensely expressive and charming wine shows no signs of ageing. SUPERIORE.DE

Extremely focussed Barolo in a class of its own. Precisely defined fruit notes of wild berries, blackcurrant, rosehip and crushed slate. Firm on the palate with a very well-defined core, softly enveloped and cushioned by a very relaxed texture. Its elegance and extreme length, together with its well-balanced power, put it on a par with the Brunate from the same house. SUPERIORE.DE

Barolo La Serra emerges from the glass with a playful bouquet of dark red fruits, tar, smoke, liquorice, spices and new leather. The high-pitched notes of rose petals, which are typical of this vineyard near La Morra, are complemented by fine strawberry and raspberry notes and, in this wonderfully elegant and subtle overall package, result in an attractive, extremely elegant Barolo that is hard to beat in terms of finesse, purity and length. SUPERIORE.DE

Between the big names of the La Morra crus – cerequio to the west, Fossati to the north – lies La Serra, a location that is often underestimated and therefore fascinating. While Brunate impresses with its geological force, La Serra plays a more subtle game: poorer, stony soils force the Nebbiolo roots down to a depth of ten metres. What sounds like a tough battle actually gives the wine an unconventional elegance – fresh, spacious, precise. Roberto Voerzio cultivates his parcel with the same radicalism as in all his crus: extreme planting density, rigorous yield reduction, spontaneous fermentation without any intervention. But what comes out of this vineyard is clearly different from the virile intensity of Brunate.

Barolo La Serra emerges from the glass with a playful bouquet of dark red fruits, tar, smoke, liquorice, spices and new leather. The high-pitched notes of rose petals, which are typical of this vineyard near La Morra, are complemented by fine strawberry and raspberry notes and, in this wonderfully elegant and subtle overall package, result in an attractive, extremely elegant Barolo that is hard to beat in terms of finesse, purity and length. SUPERIORE.DE

Barolo Brunate is a breathtaking expression of great complexity and finesse. The wine has a lively garnet red colour with a balanced and intense bouquet: sage, mint, undergrowth, tar, tobacco and liquorice nuances give Brunate a striking aromatic complexity. At the heart of the bouquet, as well as on the palate, there is plenty of dark fruit, including blackcurrants and plums. Gains breadth with time in the glass and the already fine tannins will certainly become even smoother with further ageing in the bottle. A Barolo with real presence and stature and for us the most accessible Barolo in Voerzio's exceptional collection! SUPERIORE.DE

Undisputedly the most powerful and robust Barolo in Roberto Voerzio's top range is the Rocche dell'Annunziata from one of the best vineyards in La Morra. For us, it is a benchmark in determination and forward momentum. Wonderfully harmonised fruit and spice components, a great wealth of impressions and precisely drawn beauty characterise this exceptional Barolo. Intensely fragrant nose of plums, preserved cherries and lots of raspberries, rounded off with cedar, spices and tobacco. Its depth, complexity and determination never rest; even 24 hours after opening the bottle, the connoisseur is still surprised by fine notes of mint and balsam and this incredibly expressive and charming wine shows no signs of ageing. SUPERIORE.DE

There are wines that take their time to seduce, and there are those that immediately know how to charm. Fossati belongs to the second category – not because this Barolo lacks depth or structure, but because it presents its qualities with an elegance reminiscent of the shop windows of noble Florentine boutiques. Located to the west of La Morra, at an altitude of 350 metres, the vines rest on stony, light soils with layers of clay. The roots dig up to ten metres deep – a silent struggle that gives the wine its distinctive aromatic vibrancy. Roberto Voerzio describes his Fossati wines as deeply coloured, with distinctive tannins and intense aromas.