2020 Barolo Runcot
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
The 2020 Barolo Riserva Rüncot is just as memorable as it was last year. More than anything else, the 2020 is a Rüncot that prizes finesse over just power. Silky tannins, mid-weight structure and striking delineation further amplify that initial impression. Readers should note that Elio Grasso is releasing the 2020 ahead of the 2019. I can't remember ever tasting a young Rüncot with such finesse.
Critic scores
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The Elio Grasso 2020 Barolo Riserva Rüncot offers a generous and layered profile with sweetness of fruit, rose, iris root, licorice and a distinctly solar character that makes it immediately engaging. There is notable volume and textural richness on the palate, where minerality and clay-driven power coexist, giving the wine both charm and depth. Drawn from a vineyard straddling Marne di Diano sandstone and Sant’Agata marl and fermented with two months of submerged-cap maceration followed by four years of aging in small oak and new barrique, this Riserva reflects extremely low yields and a deliberate choice to prioritize the charm of the vintage. Prior to the 2019 vintage, the last Riserva produced was 2016, which Gianluca Grasso held back for eight years before release. No Riserva was made in 2017, 2018, 2022, 2023 or 2024. He has chosen to release the 2020 Riserva first, with the 2019 scheduled to follow next year.
The 2020 Barolo Riserva Rüncot is an incredibly promising wine. Dark-toned black fruit, smoke, incense and a kiss of new French oak all meld together in the glass. In this early tasting, the 2020 looks like a wine on the more opulent side of the spectrum. This is going to be a fascinating wine to follow.
The 2020 Barolo Riserva Rüncot is an infant, and yet its balance is quite simply mind-blowing. Polished, ripe tannins enshroud a core of black cherry, plum, gravel, incense and coffee. More than anything else, I am so impressed with the wine's sublime balance. Maybe I should not be so surprised, given the track record here. This is a seriously gorgeous young Barolo in the making.