2010 Barolo Riserva

I tasted the 2010 Barolo Riserva just a few weeks after the wine was bottled. Fruit is sourced from the three main vineyard sites farmed by Borgogno—Liste, Fossati and Cannubi—and assembled after vilification. The Liste cru is represented by the largest percentage in the blend. The wine is taut and aged with budding tertiary character. There are dried fruit aromas with smoke, cured tobacco leaf and tar. The mouthfeel shows smooth integration of both tannins and acidity, but the finish is very dry. This is a common characteristic I found across the three Barolo Riservas tasted here.

Barolo. Concentrated ruby with orange tinges. Lifted with a hint of shoe polish. Very lightweight and yet firmly tannic. More like a Langhe Nebbiolo, but perhaps there is more to come. (WS)

Borgogno takes things to another level with their 2010 Barolo Riserva, a wine that shows the wisdom of blending fruit from different sites. Beautifully perfumed and layered from start to finish, the 2010 impresses for its balance and overall sense of harmony. Tasted next to the three single-vineyard offerings there is no doubt the blend has una marcia in piu 'an extra gear', as the Italians like to say. The Riserva is made predominantly from Cannubi, Fossati and Liste. Farinetti gave the fruit 45 days on the skins. His Riserva is shaping up to be magnificent.