Barolo, San Lorenzo di Verduno, 2016
This abounds with blood orange, peach skin, bitter-sweet herb and ripe cherry fruit. Sensual and shimmering with a fleshy quality. A wave of ripe tannins cleans up the palate but the wine remains completely smooth and seductive. A Verduno vineyard near Monvigliero but with very different soils – silt and sand rather than the white limestone of Monvigliero. After 25 days on the skins post fermentation the wine is aged for 3 years in large wooden vats.
critic reviews
The 2016 Barolo San Lorenzo di Verduno bristles with energy, as all these wines do. Readers will have to be patient, as the 2016 needs time to shed some of its youthful austerity. Sweet tobacco, spice, cedar, earthiness and dried cherry are some of the many notes that open up with some coaxing. Time in the glass bring out a whole range of tar and incense nuances that work so well with the wine’s personality.Over the years, I have been fortunate to taste the Alessandria Barolos with quite a bit of bottle age. I don’t want to scare readers off, but the 2016 is likely to be at its best in another decade or so, once the muscular tannins start to soften a bit. My impression is that the wait will be worth it.