Italy

“The Poderi Aldo Conterno 2017 Barolo Bussia Cicala reveals a deep garnet color with some dark copper. Like the other 2017 wines from this celebrated producer, I can’t help but suspect that these areas of Bussia suffered from the heat and some of the other weather challenges associated with this growing season. A clear note of overt ripeness comes across as dried strawberry or sweet crème de cassis. The finish is similarly weighed down by the fruit weight and oak tannins. Drink: 2023-2028. 91 points”

Monica Larner, Wine Advocate (06/21)

“The Poderi Aldo Conterno 2017 Barolo Bussia Colonnello shows good focus, structure and a sharper character that is often the distinguishing factor in this wine. The bouquet is redolent of dark fruit and plum, but it also shows a solid framing of iron ore and dark stony mineral. These give the wine greater lift and contoured edges. This is not the first time that Colonnello is my favorite wine in this lineup, and I suspect it won’t be the last. Drink: 2025-2040. 94+ points”

Monica Larner, Wine Advocate (06/21)

“Opening to a dark color and robust consistency, the Poderi Aldo Conterno 2017 Barolo Bussia Romirasco is perhaps the most powerful of the four new releases reviewed here. Wearing broad shoulders and sporting a heavy gait over the palate, the wine sees a solid construction of dark berry and spicy or toasted oak aromas. There is a lot to behold in this bottle, and it definitely shows the potential to soften and relax with more cellar aging. However, you definitely need to put the bottle aside for many years. Drink: 2025-2043. 94 points”

Monica Larner, Wine Advocate (06/21)

“The Castello di Perno 2017 Barolo opens to a dark garnet color with ripe cherry, plum and elegantly integrated spice. This Barolo shows classic, tapered lines with some of the extra concentration and sweet berry fruit that comes naturally to a hot vintage such as 2017. This Barolo is ready to go straight out of the gate. Drink: 2023-2035. 91 points”

Monica Larner, Wine Advocate (08/22)

“I love the modern label design of this handsome bottle. The Castello di Perno 2017 Barolo Castelletto reveals a robust bouquet with concentrated perfumes that recall dried cherry, black rose and fragrant tea leaf. Much of that intensity comes as a natural part of the vintage, with heat and dry growing conditions that produced smaller, richer berries. Drink: 2023-2038. 93 points”

Monica Larner, Wine Advocate (08/22)

“The Cavallotto 2018 Barolo Bricco Boschis (a certified organic wine) is a lovely expression with fruit from one of the most beautiful sites in Castiglione Falletto, measuring 7.3 hectares. The wine is streamlined and tight with forest berry, blackcurrant and spice. It is taut and silky, showing fruit that has been shaped by cool nights and warm days. Bricco Boschis always delivers a special sense of sharpness and focus. Production is 23,747 bottles and 1,333 magnums. Drink: 2024-2040. 94 points

Alfio Cavallotto and his family have farmed organically since 1976. In 2008, they started to reduce the use of copper, finally eliminating it by 2013, thereby cleaning the soils of metal buildup. These are excellent wines from a unique position. Bricco Boschis is located at the center of the Barolo growing region, and it links the eastern part of the appellation (Serralunga d’Alba and Monforte d’Alba) to the western side (where La Morra and Barolo are found).”

Monica Larner, Wine Advocate (06/22)

“The Ettore Germano 2017 Barolo Vignarionda reveals a very bright and lively bouquet with ripe fruit, candied cherry, sandalwood, wild rose and rusty nail. The wine shows extra saturation, with no heaviness, and especially fine but firm tannins. Vignarionda exhibits lots of density with energy and life on the finish. Drink: 2024-2040. 94 points”

Monica Larner, Wine Advocate (08/22)