2015 Barolo Bussia Riserva
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Tasting notes
The 2015 Barolo Riserva Bussia Sergio Barale is a wine of enormous personality and vertical punch. There is perhaps an aldehydic note of nuttiness or dried cherry skin that adds to the lifted nature of the bouquet. I find it quite charming, actually, and it is something that appears rather consistently with past vintages. Maceration continues for 30 days in oak tanks with lots of work on the cap. The Riserva reveals dark fruits and purple berries, and the focus and sharpness of the fruit is remarkable. There are no baked or overripe elements here, despite the warm vintage. I tasted bottle 486 of 1,466 numbered bottles produced.
Critic scores
Average Score
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
The 2015 Barolo Riserva Bussia is a powerful, austere wine. Dark cherry, gravel, spice, menthol, licorice and dried herbs confer notable layers of complexity. Potent and backward, with imposing tannins, the 2015 is going to need a number of years to be at its finest. There is plenty of muscle and depth, that much is clear.
Opening to rich dark fruit and thick concentration, the 2015 Barolo Bussia Sergio Barale is a wine of medium to full weight with good textural richness. There are some notes of soft, red fruit scattered among thick waves of dark fruit intensity. This wine sits firmly on the palate. The grapes are fermented with ambient yeasts and left on the skins for up to 30 days. The wine then ages in 30-hectoliter botti for three years. Some 3,600 bottles were produced.
Monforte d’Alba. Tasted blind. Deep ruby. A nose that is a little touched by dried fruit, adding a sense of richness. Rich strawberry fruit with subtle, juicy acidity creeping up and lots of coating tannins. A very different, more youthful message on the palate indicating a propensity for further ageing. (WS)