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Tasting notes
Barolo. Tasted blind. Mid to deep ruby. Lifted wild strawberry, cherry and raspberry nose with just a suggestion of fresh mint. Still very youthful and a little shy on the palate but with plenty of fruit and sandpapery tannins. Has a perfumed quality to it. Great balance and personality. (WS)
Critic scores
Average Score
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
This vintage soars high when you measure the performance of this 2016 Barolo against past editions. The wine comes into its own with dark fruit, spice, camphor ash and tilled earth. It remains mid-weight and silky, yet the personality here is slightly more robust and dark compared to many of its neighbors. I see from past notes that I often found this classic Barolo to be too ripe. That's not the case here. The 2016 vintage is balanced and tight, with a firm tannic structure. The wine was double decanted and opened a few hours before my tasting. About 6,500 bottles were made.
The 2016 Barolo shows the darker side of Nebbiolo. Black cherry, game, licorice, smoke, leather, menthol and spice all add to the wine's virile feel, an impression that is reinforced by firm, sinewy tannins that give the wine its personality. The 2016 is a bit rough around the edges, but it has plenty of personality. The 2016 can be enjoyed now, with a few hours of aeration, which will smooth out some of the wine's youthful angularity.