Strawberry and roundness, some smokiness, cherries, a hint of vanilla, lots of muscle and concentration but charming on the palate. As the Barolo boys say, it’s rare for a wine with such concentration to be consider charming, but this one truly is. Tannins are definitely a major component of this wine. An iron fist in a velvet glove as wine writers used to say. If I think of wines like Cascina Francia by Conterno at 260 a bottle, give me this any day. It’s more delicious and I’d say considerably better. Another phenomenal value wine. Off the charts for the price. No wonder they call this Giacosa on a budget. This headliner Barolo is using their best two vineyards in Monforte dAlba, Ginestra and Mosconi.

#Tasting#

Both winemaker Oscar Arrivabene, and the great Bruno Giacosa, share a wine consultant, one of the most respected in Italy, Dante Scaglione. That’s always a very good start, Sharing anything with Bruno Giacosa would be considered a step in the right direction. The next steps and considered the most important to the estate, was those taken amongst their vines. Dominco had describe being “convinced that to obtain good wines you have to grow the vineyard with love and dedication, establishing an intense bond with the land and continuous exchange to learn to understand the needs of the vine at any time of the year.” Dominico’s wife Giuliana is the head of the ship, having been there every step of the way with her late husband, when they took things over from his father in the mid 70’s. She has continued their shared ethos and has some very talented people working with her that feed into this identity.